European gypsy moth infestation in Surrey to be targeted - Action News
Home WebMail Thursday, November 14, 2024, 03:02 AM | Calgary | 6.3°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
British Columbia

European gypsy moth infestation in Surrey to be targeted

The province will pay about $1 million to get rid of an infestation found in the Cloverdale area, likely using insecticide sprayed either from the air or the ground next spring.

Province planning to spend $1-million on insecticide spraying this spring

A European gypsy moth is shown caught in one of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's pheromone traps in Surrey, B.C., the summer of 2014. (B.C. Ministry of Forests)

For the first time in several years, the B.C. government will be spraying to stop the spread of the European gypsy moth, after the destructive insect was detected in Surrey in numbers great enough to be of concern.

In recent years, just under a dozengypsy moths have been trapped each year in southern B.C. But this year, more than 100 were found clustered near64 Avenue and 176 Street in theSurrey-Cloverdalearea.

A close-up shows a European gypsy moth caterpillar. Note the hairs. (Province of Ontario)

So next spring the province will spend about $1 million to get rid of them, likely using insecticide sprayed either from the air or the ground.

The last time a similar eradication effort took place was 2010 in Richmond.

Tim Ebata, a forest health officer with B.C.'s Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, says the gypsy moth caterpillars pose a threat to many environments, as they feed on roughly 300 different species of shrubs and trees.

"They are a major threat to deciduous trees and many urban ornamental trees as well as fruit trees and all sorts of fruit crops, so it's potentially a major urban problem," he told CBC News.

An adult female European gypsy moth is photographed next to a freshly-laid egg mass. (Province of Ontario)

If gypsy moth and caterpillar populations aren't suppressed, there will also be major economic implications, Ebata said.

"Because we have agreed to be gypsy moth-free in Western North America, our trading partners in the U.S. would quarantine usor impose some kind of trade restriction if we had infested material that would move across the border," he said.

Ebata said gypsy moth were first introduced to the eastern United States in the late 1800s, and right now they seem to most often slip into B.C. on items such as lawn furniture and boats.

With files from the CBC's Jeff Harrington