Moth Population to Be Curbed

Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will be combating the state’s surging gypsy moth population once again this year. Over 175,000 acres of private and public woodlands will be sprayed with the biological insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis, made from the spores of a particular fungus. DCNR spokesman Terry Brady says the trees of the state are in jeopardy due to the pests’ overpopulation. “[Gypsy moths] cannot be eradicated, and this is not an eradication effort. It is a control effort to save our oak trees… If an oak is defoliated once or twice, it will die, and when you lose an oak, you lose more than just shade. You lose the [potential] for a massive amount of wildlife,” says Brady. Brady says the spraying will cost roughly $37 per acre, for a total of nearly $6.5 million. Though nearly all of the insecticide will be used in central and northwestern parts of the state, homeowners in unsprayed areas with a gypsy moth problem can still find preventive methods at DCNR’s website.