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6-26-2006

WEST VIRGINIA COMPLETES TREATMENTS FOR GYPSY MOTH

Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglass announced that the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture completed their gypsy moth suppression treatments in West Virginia. A total of 8,121 acres were treated under the Gypsy Moth Cooperative State, County, Landowner Program in the Eastern Panhandle counties of Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral and Morgan, while 11,950 acres were treated in the western and southern part of the state (Jackson and Fayette Counties) under the Slow the Spread (STS) Program.

The suppression projects operated out of airports in Jackson and Grant Counties. Agricultural spray planes were used to apply the insecticides Dimilin and Bacillus thuringiensis var. karstaki (Btk) to the infested properties to kill gypsy moth larvae. The gypsy moth suppression program was completed on May 24.

As part of the STS Program, agricultural spray planes were also used to apply pheromone flakes for the control of low-level gypsy moth infestations in Fayette, Mercer and Raleigh Counties. Over 10,165 acres, consisting of four blocks of land, were designated for treatment. The tiny pheromone flakes (1/32" x 3/32" are impregnated with a pheromone that mimics the scent of the female gypsy moth. Pheromone flakes act to disrupt gypsy moth mating by confusing the male gypsy moths resulting in a reduction in the spread rate of the gypsy moth. The attractant is specific for gypsy moth and no other insects. The STS Pheromone Flake Project was completed June 22.

For more information on the WVDA Gypsy Moth Cooperative State, County Landowner Program or the STS program, contact WVDA Plant Industries Division Director Gary W. Gibson or Assistant Director S. Clark Haynes in Charleston at 304/558-2212 or Gypsy Moth Program Manager Butch Sayers 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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