ASHTABULA - - The Ohio Department of Agriculture flew into town Friday to rid the Ashtabula Harbor of the invasive gypsy moth.
While drinking their morning coffee, residents of the Ashtabula Harbor may have heard a small yellow airplane flying in low from over Lake Erie, spraying insecticides over Eleanor, Norwood, Southwood, Westwood and Eastwood drives, parts of Norman, Allen, Gladding and Union avenues and West Ninth Street.
"The homeowners requested this treatment," said Lee Anne Mizer, spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture. "Everyone should go on as normal. It is not harmful."
A few months ago, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Gypsy Moth Management Program, completed an analysis of gypsy moth populations throughout Ohio, including the city of Ashtabula, said David Adkins, Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Based on rising moth captures within the city, the Department of Agriculture concluded a treatment was required. The aerial treatment is being conducted as part of a state and federal sponsored control project.
Prime Air was contracted by the Department of Agriculture to do the job.
The gypsy moth, one of the most destructive insect pests threatening forests and ornamental plants in Ohio, was first brought to the United States from Europe more than 100 years ago, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
The first male moths were trapped in Ashtabula County in 1971. Two years later, 1973, the first chemical treatments were implemented to eradicate a localized populations. Between 1973 and 1987, eradication efforts continued, but populations still grew. In 1987, Ashtabula County became the first county to have gypsy moth quarantine regulations imposed on it. Today, 46 counties in Ohio are under the quarantine regulations.
The moth typically advance at a rate of about 12 miles a year. A large infestation is capable of defoliating 3 million acres of forest a year.
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Department of Agriculture sprays Harbor for gypsy moths
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