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Show State targets Gypsy moths By JAMS STUART Staff Writer BOUNTIFUL Mueller Park and Parrish Creek areas received a third application of Pheromone as part of a gypsy moth eradication program. The insecticide will be applied by low flying helicopters at a rate of one-half gallon an acre, considered a very low level application. Since 1989, the gypsy moth population has been reduced by 76 percent, due to efforts of the Utah Department of Agriculture, USDA's Forest Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Ser-vice, as well as numerous local agencies. The three part eradication program pro-gram consists of treatment, trapping and quarantine. The treatment portion of the program pro-gram began in May and consists of three applications of Pheromone, a biological insecticide. It is a naturally nat-urally occurring bacterium found in the soil. These bacterial components com-ponents are formulated with carbohydrates, car-bohydrates, preservatives, and water to make a final product. The spores and crystals must be eaten by the caterpillar before it can work. According to the Utah Gypsy Moth Eradication Program, "This bacterium has been extensively tested for the past 25 years and has been used operationally for the past ten years. Many safety tests are required re-quired for a pesticide to be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Based on these tests, EPA has determined that this product is safe to use both in i the forest environment and on food crops. Trapping is used to determine the size of moth population, to gauge treatment effectiveness, and to determine de-termine which areas need treatment the next year. L.J. Western, U.S. Forest Service communications specialist, said, "The traps look like milk cartons with little tent tops. They contain a fluorescent green light that attracts the male moth. The containers are dispersed throughout the area and determine the effectiveness of spraying." According to Western, ' 'The greatest danger to the success of the program is the long-range spread of the gypsy moth out of infested areas by homeowners." The Utah Department of Agriculture requires inspection of all outdoor articles before they are moved outside of a quarantined area. Violations of the quarantine can result in a fine of up to $5,000. The quarantine is scheduled to be in effect for one or two years after the end of the treatment program. Gypsy moths first became established estab-lished in the United States in 1869 and have spread throughout the Northeast to become a destructive pest of hardwood forest and shade trees. At the peak of its population cy-c'c cy-c'c gyPsy moth infestations can defoliate millions of acres of forest and urban trees. For more in format ion on any phase of the gypsy moth eradication program, contact the Gypsy Moth Information Center at 524-6207. |