Residents in the Centerburg and Homer areas in Knox County might have seen low-flying yellow aircraft only 100 feet above treetops as they performed aerial treatments to control populations of the spongy moth in Ohio.
The treatment covered 2,700 acres around Centerburg and 580 acres in Homer.
The treatment that disrupts the moth’s mating cycle was planned by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, it reported in a news release. A single application of the product SPLAT GM-O was used. It does not kill the moth, but it disrupts its mating process by confusing the male as it searches for a female mate.
SPLAT is an organic and biodegradable formula that is completely harmless to both humans and animals. Anyone who came into contact with it could simply wash the affected area with soap and water. Clothing can be cleaned with hot water and laundry detergent. The product is not harmful to birds, bees, plants, pets or humans.
The Agriculture Department said spongy moths are invasive insects that defoliate more than 300 species of trees and shrubs. The moth feeds on the leaves of trees and shrubs in its caterpillar stage and is especially fond of oak. A healthy tree can usually withstand only two years of defoliation before it is permanently damaged or dies. In Ohio, 51 counties are currently under spongy moth quarantine regulations.
ODA has three programs to manage the spongy moth population in the state. The suppression program is used where the pest is established in counties and landowners voluntarily request treatment to help suppress populations. In the counties that are in front of the larger, advancing spongy moth population, a second program to slow-the-spread occurs.
Eradication is the final program, used in counties where isolated populations develop ahead of advancing moth populations due to human movement of the moth. Officials work to detect and control isolated populations to slow the overall advancement of the spongy moth infestation.
The spongy moth, which formerly was known as the European gypsy moth, is a non-native, invasive species that moved west into Ohio from Pennsylvania and Michigan. The Agriculture Department reported each egg mass laid by a female contains between 500 and 1,000 individual eggs.
Once the eggs hatch, they feed on the leaves of more than 300 different tree and shrub species. A single 2-inch larva can consume up to 1 square foot of foliage every 24 hours. In a heavily infested area with 250 or more egg masses per acre, the trees can be completely stripped.
The Ohio-native tree species preferred by the spongy moth include American crab apple, American hophornbeam, bigtooth aspen, black oak, bur oak, chinkapin oak, red oak, scarlet oak, Shumard oak, white oak, cockspur hawthorn, common witch-hazel, eastern larch, pussy willow, river birch, smooth sumac, staghorn sumac and sweetgum.
