Spray planes get dates for moth attacks

4/30/2001

The time to spray for gypsy moth larvae is almost here.

Weather permitting, the spray planes may be at work in the area as soon as May 10, according to Amy Stone, of the Ohio State University Extension Service.

The planes will start spraying in south Ohio this week and move north. Depending on the weather, they will be here May 10, 11, or 14, Ms. Stone said. If winds are too high for effective spraying, the attempt will be repeated.

Traditionally, the spraying for the larvae of the leaf-gobbling pests is done during the first two weeks of May when the gypsy moth larvae are most vulnerable to the treatments.

Spraying will include a half-mile-wide swath of trees along Shetland Road in Sylvania Township; an area north of Sherwood Road between Detroit Avenue and the Anthony Wayne Trail; the northern edge of Heatherdowns Country Club; the north end of Percentum Road in Sylvania Township, and over most of Ottawa Park.

In 2000, the department treated more than 71,000 acres of state, private, and federal land in 14 counties at a cost of $967,000. It was its largest suppression treatment project in its history. The state and the federal government each paid half.

Defoliation was limited to 24,000 acres of trees, or half the damage that occurred in 1999.