The aerial spraying to exterminate gypsy moths on Brush Mountain was postponed from today to Friday due to poor weather conditions.

Montgomery County is participating in the Virginia Gypsy Moth Cooperative Suppression Program on 254 acres of uninhabited forestland. Gap Mountain is scheduled to be sprayed on Monday to kill gypsy moths in their early caterpillar stage. A total of 117 acres on both mountains will be sprayed with Btk.

Late next week, 137 acres of forestland on Poor Mountain near Roanoke County will be sprayed with Dimilin, depending on leaf development and the weather.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services uses aerial spraying of the insecticides Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) and Dimilin to kill gypsy moths in their early caterpillar stage. While all regions are uninhabited forest land, the area on Poor Mountain is more remote from homes.

Btk is a biological insecticide used in the organic food industry to control caterpillars. Dimilin is a chemical insecticide that is often more effective than Btk. Research indicates direct effects on humans and other mammals are extremely unlikely. Both insecticides are mixed at low concentrations with water for spraying.

Montgomery County faces a serious threat to forests, trees and shrubs from the gypsy moth. The County was placed under quarantine last year because of this pest. The caterpillars primarily forage on a variety of oak trees, but attack about 300 plant species. Tree defoliation can be more than 90 percent in areas of high gypsy moth populations.

Healthy trees can survive one or two defoliations, but weak trees often die from subsequent attacks by disease or other insect pests. Some people, particularly children, are allergic to the caterpillars, egg masses and droppings. Migrating caterpillars can become a major nuisance during late June.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment