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Gypsy traps and leaves will tell moth tale Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Karen Hunter-Rose checks a gypsy moth trap hanging in the neighborhood above Southern Oregon University Wednesday. It's one of several hundred traps in Ashland that will be checked this month to determine whether eradication efforts were successful. State inspection will determine success of Ashland spraying By TONY BOOM ASHLAND - Karen Hunter-Rose is looking for something she hopes she won't find. A biological survey technician with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Hunter-Rose started checking traps for European gypsy moths in the hills south of Southern Oregon University Wednesday. The absence of moths in the 336 units she examines during the next month will indicate a good start toward eradication. Hunter-Rose didn't find any moths in the traps she checked Wednesday. A 160-acre hillside area was sprayed with pesticide from helicopters on April 24, May 7 and May 17 after moths were discovered in traps last year. Ground spraying of 10 acres the previous year failed to eliminate the pest. The moths lay egg masses that hatch into leaf-eating larvae that can leave trees barren and susceptible to disease. Even the discovery of two moths might not trigger another spraying, said Kathleen Johnson, plant and pest disease programs supervisor for the department. Officials would look at how far apart the moths were found, negative traps in between discoveries, spray times and egg masses uncovered. "We are looking for clues that represent a reproducing population, " said Johnson. Two years of intensive trapping with no moth discoveries will indicate eradication. There are 153 traps in the 17-acre central area bounded roughly by Leonard, Elkader, Prospect and Emma streets. A total of 183 traps are in the adjacent 58 acres. Another technician will check 172 traps in surrounding areas of Ashland. The first area, including Morton, Webster and the nearby hillside, has 49 traps per square mile. A second area, stretching from Tolman Creek Road to Scenic Drive and from Hersey Street into the Ashland hills, has 25 traps per square mile. Elsewhere in Jackson County, traps are in place at a ratio of two or four per square mile. The county has a total of 1,550 gypsy moth traps. "Moths will be flying for the next couple of days," said Bill Giacomazzi, insect survey coordinator for the department. "July 24 is the earliest moth capture day in Oregon. Typically, we catch them between now and Aug. 2 or 3." Each trap will be checked during the next week. They'll be checked again starting about Aug. 15. They are checked a third time when they are removed after Labor Day and sent to a lab in Eugene. Giacomazzi will return in the fall after leaves have dropped to search for any trap that may not have been found during the September pickup. The traps, which look like little pup tents, are hung from trees and shrubs. Green traps are placed in home yards to blend into other foliage. Red traps are used in other locations. Most homeowners in the area cooperated with the trap placement, which occurred the week after the last spraying. A sex-attractant pheromone is used to lure flying males to the traps. The females do not fly. A sticky substance keeps the moth in the trap. Giacomazzi and Hunter-Rose think that moth larvae blew out of the original infestation area last year prior to the hand spraying. Prevailing wind patterns matched the spread of the moths. "We've always had a great success rate with our aerial programs," said Giacomazzi. While gypsy moths are the primary search target now, Hunter-Rose and other technicians also check traps for Japanese beetles and exotic fruit moths and trees for signs of Asian longhorned beetles and sudden oak death disease. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.