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4-7-2006

WVDA ADDS MONROE COUNTY TO THE STATE GYPSY MOTH QUARANTINE

Monroe County will be added to the list of quarantined counties on the West Virginia Gypsy Moth Quarantine. Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass said that the regulatory action will be taken “…because gypsy moth populations have become established in Monroe County,” and that “…this will help deter the artificial spread of gypsy moth into uninfested counties.” The listing will become effective April 14, 2006, and brings the number of counties that are under quarantine in West Virginia to 38.

The quarantine regulates the movement of logs, mobile homes/offices, nursery stock and outside household articles from quarantined counties to counties outside of the quarantine. Typical household articles are picnic tables, lawn furniture, dog houses, bicycles, firewood, travel trailers and recreational vehicles. Businesses such as commercial mobile home dealers, movers, Christmas tree growers, sawmills and log yards operate under compliance agreements and inspections by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA).

Homeowners may self-inspect prior to a move. The “Don’t Move Gypsy Moth” USDA pamphlet, which describes how to do a self-inspection and includes a checklist of common outdoor items that could carry gypsy moth life stages, is available by contacting the West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s Plant Industries Division (phone number listed below).

The gypsy moth is a non-native caterpillar that has become established in most of the northeastern U.S., including a large portion of West Virginia. Isolated infestations have occurred in other states as well. The insect prefers to feed on the leaves of oak trees (West Virginia’s predominant forest tree), but it has a wide range of hosts, which includes both forest and shade trees and ornamental shrubs. Gypsy moth life stages (eggs, larvae, pupae and adults) can be transported long distances to uninfested areas by humans transporting infested materials.

For additional information about the West Virginia Gypsy Moth Quarantine, contact the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Plant Industries Division, 1900 Kanawha Blvd., E., Charleston, WV 25305-0191, or telephone the agency at (304) 558-2212. Information about the Federal Gypsy Moth Quarantine can be obtained by writing to: USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Route 1, Box 142, Ripley, WV 25271, or by telephoning the agency at (304) 372-8590.

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.

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