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6-15-2006

2006 GYPSY MOTH SLOW THE SPREAD PHEROMONE FLAKE PROJECT TO BEGIN

Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglass recently announced that the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA-FS) will be treating 10,173 acres of state and private lands in West Virginia for low level gypsy moth infestations. The land proposed for treatment occurs in four blocks in Fayette, Mercer and Raleigh Counties.

Treatment will consist of pheromone flakes aerially applied by agricultural spray planes. The tiny flakes (1/32"x3/32") are impregnated with a pheromone that is a sex attractant for male gypsy moths. The sex attractant is specific for gypsy moth and affects no other insects. Pheromone flakes act to disrupt gypsy moth mating by confusing the male gypsy moths. This results in a reduction in the spread rate of the gypsy moth.

The pheromone flake project will likely operate out of an airport in Virginia. It is anticipated that the project will begin around June 19 and should be completed in a day or two depending on weather. The contact phone number for this operation will be 304-813-9625.

Public notifications, environmental assessments, biological evaluations, work and safety plans, and decision notices have all been completed for this project, which is a cooperative effort with the USDA-FS, West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service, West Virginia Division of Forestry, and landowners to protect the state's forest resources.

Commissioner Douglass stated that “…the STS Program began in 1993 as a pilot project to demonstrate that the gypsy moth spread rate could be reduced in a cost-effective manner. In 2000, STS became a formal program with eight states from North Carolina to Wisconsin participating. Minnesota joined the program in 2004. A variety of techniques are used to manage isolated gypsy moth populations in the transition zone between the generally infested area and the area where no detectible populations can be found." Most of southern West Virginia falls within the STS Program area.

For more information on the STS Gypsy Moth Treatment Program, contact WVDA Plant Industries Director Gary Gibson, or Assistant Director S. Clark Haynes in Charleston at 304-558-2212 or Butch Sayers, Gypsy Moth Program Manager, in New Creek at 304-788-1066.

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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