Gypsy Moth

andrews@herald-mail.com This year, trees have a fighting chance. Armies of gypsy moths continue to gnaw leaves, but their numbers have dwindled, which means less defoliation, agriculture experts say. West Virginia will spray a little more than 4,000 acres with insecticide this year, a steep drop from the 75,000 acres sprayed last year. Maryland's insecticide spraying program will be cut in half this year. Pennsylvania's gypsy moth population has dropped off so much the state won't spray insecticide this year.

The gypsy moth season is winding down in our area. The good news is that the defoliation is not as bad as many of us feared. Last year was serious and many thought this year would be a disaster. But there are two natural controls for the gypsy moth larvae: One is a virus and the other is a fungus. Both of these need to have periods of wet cool weather in the spring to become active and provide control. That didn't happen the last few years and the gypsy moth population exploded.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - The destruction last year was nothing like that of the early 1990s, but Pennsylvania plans to more than triple the area of public and private forested lands for aerial spraying this year to contain further damage by the voracious gypsy moth caterpillar. The state will spray 222,375 acres in 27 counties, said Terrence Brady, spokesman for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. In the spring of 2007, about 65,000 acres in 19 counties were treated for the gypsy moth.

"Trees that are stressed are more vulnerable to defoliation and the opportunistic organisms that frequently attack them, so efforts should be made to keep trees in a good state of health or vigor. " That's according to a gypsy moth handbook created for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some tips: Cutting, filling, grading, paving and other construction can hurt a tree's soil and root system. Keep the forest floor surface as natural as possible in wooded backyards.

West Virginia landowners in the Eastern Panhandle are among those who can help the state fight gypsy moths, the state's No. 1 plant pest. This year's moth suppression program will accept egg mass survey applications from landowners in several counties, including Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties in the Eastern Panhandle. The signup period runs from now through Aug. 31. The gypsy moth "eats a wide variety of trees and shrubs, and West Virginia's vast forest resources offer an ideal habitat for this invasive pest to feed upon," said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass.

Gypsy moth spraying set in Pa. WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Gypsy moth spraying will start in the next few days in Franklin County and 24 other Pennsylvania counties to suppress the woodland insect pest. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced gypsy moths are prevalent enough to require 178,000 acres of woodlands to be sprayed in parts of the state. Officials described the gypsy moth as "one of the most destructive forest pests in Pennsylvania.

The Washington County office of the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension has received about a dozen calls reporting trees being stripped of leaves by gypsy moths, an official said Friday. Most come from homeowners with large numbers of oak trees, a gypsy moth favorite, said Annette Ipsan, extension educator for horticulture. "Unfortunately, there is no control available that kills the larger caterpillars we are seeing now. It's important to use control measures earlier in the season and to understand that most trees can handle a year or two of attack," Ipsan said.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com They're not pretty. Their names are nearly impossible to pronounce. But they're doing the job. One is a fungus called Entomophaga maimaiga, the other a virus named nucleopolyhedrosis. Both are wreaking havoc on gypsy moths - so much so that the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry won't have to spray forests this spring because gypsy moth populations are the lowest they've been in years. Two years ago, said Bruce W. Kile, a forester at the 85,000-acre Michaux State Forest headquarters in Fayetteville, the state sprayed 169,000 acres of forests.

If I had my choice of facing Mothman or a voracious band of gypsy moths, I would take Mothman every time. Mothman, for those unfamiliar with unexplained and unearthly phenomena, is a creature who used to hang around Point Pleasant, W. Va. In 1966, several people reported seeing a large brown creature, shaped like a man, but featuring large red eyes and big wings. Mothman appeared several more times over the next year. Local residents blamed him for poor TV reception and sleepless nights as Mothman apparently liked to scream a lot. Sightings of the creature continued for about a year when Mothman used his bat-like wings to fly somewhere else.