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Gypsy moth spraying set in Ashland By PAUL FATTIG ASHLAND -- The Oregon Department of Agriculture plans to spray a 10-acre residential area in Ashland with biological insecticide next month to halt a gypsy moth infestation. The spray -- Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) -- will be applied May 3 and May 17 with ground-based hydraulic equipment on 26 residential properties near Southern Oregon University. Btk is a safe and effective weapon in the battle against the destructive gypsy moth, said Alan Mudge, a entomologist with the department. "It's a bacteria that only affects caterpillars," he said. "It's a proven insecticide for eradicating gypsy moths. We've used it in all of our spraying." The department decided to spray after four gypsy moths were discovered in traps near the university early last fall. Three were found about a quarter-mile southeast of the university, and the fourth was found about a quarter-mile southwest of SOU. The department has sent informational packets to the property owners in the area where the moths were found. The packet contains a consent form granting permission for spray applicators to come onto private property to spray all trees and shrubs. The department routinely checks some 19,000 gypsy moth traps placed throughout the state. The traps are put out each May. The traps contain a female sex hormone to attract male moths and a sticky substance to prevent them from leaving. Gypsy moths can be a threat to local plant life, from agricultural crops to local forests, Mudge said, noting they can defoliate forests in short order. "It's a real pest of deciduous trees as well as trees that provide timber products," he said. "They increase the fire hazard and create erosion problems." Gypsy moths leave egg masses that hatch into leaf-eating larvae that can leave trees barren and susceptible to disease, officials warn. Along the East Coast, where they were first noticed in the United States after being introduced from Europe, the bugs have defoliated entire forests. The Ashland infestation was traced to a family that had recently moved to the area from the Northeast, Mudge said. "It was a family that had moved from New York to southern Oregon," he said. "The home owners had brought an outdoor article with an egg mass on it." The Ashland moths were among 13 trapped by the department last fall. One was found at Steamboat in Douglas County, two were found in Eugene and six turned up in the northwestern part of the state. The Ashland eradication reflects the smallest spray effort in recent years since gypsy moths were first detected in Oregon in 1979. In 1998, 29 gypsy moths were trapped statewide. "The detection effort is probably the cause (for the decreased sightings)," he said. "In the last 10 or 15 years, we've done a good job of detecting them early before they have time to spread." The detection program was created in the 1980s when up to 225,000 acres in Lane County were infested with about 19,000 gypsy moths. The area was sprayed with insecticides. In 1995, the agency applied insecticides in Jacksonville after seven gypsy moths were found. Those moths also were traced to a New England family who had recently moved to Jacksonville. Bug experts theorize the moths laid eggs attached to the underside of the family's car or lawn furniture. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA