Ledyard forms committee to spray for gypsy moths
Ledyard — Following concerns from residents that a destructive gypsy moth infestation will continue next spring, the Town Council on Wednesday night formed a committee to develop an aerial spraying program for interested property owners.
The committee will be made up of a town councilor, a member of a town land use committee and seven at-large community members.
They will be tasked with obtaining state approval and cost estimates from commercial applicators to spray the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis, as well as reaching out to local property owners.
Members of the Town Council said Wednesday they wanted to expedite the process and get the committee working.
At a Town Council meeting in July, Parsonage Hill Manor Homeowners Association President Naomi Rodriguez presented her research into hiring a company to spray for the pest.
Alongside other residents in the neighborhood, Rodriguez said that a third consecutive year of defoliation could kill many trees, with falling limbs posing a hazard for motorists.
Rodriguez said she's taken down several trees on her own property this year.
Beyond the damage to trees, histamine in the caterpillar hairs also can cause a skin rash for some, she noted.
The committee would have to get started as soon as possible in order to secure permission from the state to spray, which is most effective in the month of May, when the caterpillars feed.
Currently, there is one company — Dynamic Aviation Group of Bridgewater, Va. — licensed by the state to conduct pesticide application from the air.
But Robert Isner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said several others have expressed interest in obtaining the license.
Town Council Chairwoman Linda Davis last Friday posted a sign-up form for people interested in serving either as volunteers or as committee members on the Ledyard Community Forum Facebook page.
She said at the meeting that 10 interested community members already had reached out to her.
Dr. Kirby Stafford, chief entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said Thursday that an aerial survey of defoliation in the state still is being finalized.
He said surveys from Massachusetts indicate the number of acres defoliated by the caterpillars this year is several times greater than last year.
There are few predators that impact the moths' egg masses during the fall and winter months, Kirby said, and the prime environmental control is the fungus Entomophaga maimaiga, which needs a wet spring to spread, reach and kill the caterpillars.
"The fungus isn't going to impact the caterpillars (until they) start migrating and they get blown off trees. ... It does kill all the caterpillars but not until they're half or almost fully grown," Stafford said.
The fungus also needs rain to grow, so if rain comes too late in the spring, it may not stave off another round of defoliation, he added.
"The unknowable is how much," Stafford said.
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