The reaction to gypsy moth invasions ranges from complete horror to a total lack of interest. However, almost everyone has some level of concern when the gypsy moth caterpillars cause.

• noticeable defoliation of trees
• drop their feces on everything under the trees
• hairy caterpillars begin to crawl over everything in their path making outdoor enjoyment a real challenge!

Tree Damage

Tree Damage is caused by the insect larvae, or caterpillars, which emerge from their eggs beginning in early spring and continuing through mid-May.  The larvae move to the leaves of trees and begin to eat, mostly at night.  During daylight hours, larvae generally seek shade from the sun but feeding can occur in daytime in heavy infestations.  Feeding will continue into late June depending upon a variety of factors.

Trees Affected although the Gypsy Moth Caterpillar prefers species such as oak they will feed on most trees and are the most serious pests of deciduous trees.

Gypsy Moth Control

There are a few chemical pesticides registered for caterpillar control. However, people are concerned about the effects both on the environment and on human populations. Most people prefer not to come into contact with chemical pesticides if they can avoid it.

So, how can we avoid coming into contact with synthetic pesticides, yet control the gypsy moth? One answer is to use products derived from a naturally occurring, soil dwelling bacterium, called Bacillus thuringiensis, or "Bt" for short.

Since it was first registered in the US in 1961, dramatic advancements in the development of Bt strains have occurred. Btk "Kurstaki" effect only the lepedopteran family of caterpillars of which Gypsy Moth fall into. The actual mode of action is simple. The bacterium produces a crystal protein that kills the cells lining the insect gut - they eat, they die. The interesting thing about Btk is that if ingested by other beneficial insects, birds, fish, other animals and people - it is harmless.

Why Aerail Spray?

The aerial application of Bt has been determined to be the safest and most effective method of reducing exploding populations of gypsy moth in forested, semi-rural and urban areas. Gypsy moth larvae feed throughout the canopy of trees. To kill the caterpillars, Bt must be applied to foliage (needles and leaves) and then be eaten by gypsy moth larvae. Trees come in many shapes and sizes and are located in all types of locations and terrain. Some of these locations may be very difficult to access from the ground. Aerial application of Btk is the most effective and cost-efficient method of applying Btk over a large area and reach foliage located in poorly accessible locations. Furthermore, and most importantly, over 30 years of aerial application on human populations have revealed no short or long-term adverse effects to human or environmental health. Btk is an extremely safe biological insecticide.

Aerial application of Bt is the preferred method for suppressing gypsy moth populations that are widespread. There are several important advantages of using this method over other forms of treatment.

• Safe - Btk is harmless to non-target organisms. Because there are minimal health risks and it does not harm the environment, Btk can be applied over populated areas without any buffers for water bodies.
• Effective - Aerial sprays have been proven over several decades of use to be highly effective at achieving the desired level of control of gypsy moth and other forest pests.
• Fast - treatment can be completed in only a few hours vs. ground applications which may take several days to treat a much smaller area. The majority of droplets will have reached the ground within 10 minutes of application.
• Complete coverage - droplets are evenly spread throughout the target area and, most importantly, are able to penetrate crowns of trees no matter how high they are. Ground application of Btk is limited by access, terrain, and the height and density of the target vegetation.

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