ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK REPORTS:
Gypsy moths strip trees bare of their leaves and — if left unchecked in Illinois — could leave a path of destruction in their wake.
*NOTE… See the Mauget products that control Gypsy Moth since the late 1960’s at the end of this article…
The state’s Department of Agriculture is trying to prevent that from happening.
Phil Nixon, an extension entomologist with the University of Illinois, said the Department of Agriculture has been fighting the spread of the gypsy moth since the 1970s.
Nixon said the insect has migrated from north to south in Illinois; and without any natural enemies, the moths could potentially grow in number every spring.
“Once a female mates, she will typically lay 300 to 1,000 eggs, which will hatch,” Nixon said. “The caterpillars start feeding on the leaves and start stripping the trees.”
Nixon said oak trees are most susceptible to gypsy moth populations and, according to the Belleville News-Democrat, so are more than 250 other trees and shrubs.
Large populations of gypsy moths are mostly found in northeast Illinois and the Chicago metro area, but a program called “Stop the Spread” is working to change that, Nixon said.
“The numbers are too large to stop it, but we can slow it and save us several decades if not a hundred years or more on the insect becoming widespread through the state,” Nixon said.
Nixon said aerial spraying, the use of pheromones to stop the moths from mating and dousing their eggs in oil are some of the ways gypsy moth populations have been kept in check.
Gypsy moths could potentially impact homeowners in the state, Nixon said.
“The trees on a property, if you lose those trees, can devalue the property 20, 30, maybe even 50 percent, so having the trees there has value as well,” Nixon said.
The Department of Agriculture will be holding public meetings on this issue in Pontiac, Oglesby, Oswego and Freeport, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. Read Full Article
MAUGET OFFERS 2 PRODUCTS WITH EXCELLENT CONTROL FOR GYPSY MOTH.
1… FULL SEASON CONTROL WITH “ABACIDE 2” AND “ABACIDE 2 Hp”
2… VERY FAST KNOCK DOWN “INJECT-A-CIDE B“. Inject-A-cide B has been used successfully since the late 1960’s
FIND and CONTACT A MAUGET CERTIFIED APPLICATOR NEAR YOU…HERE: