Gypsy Moth

The ability of the Gypsy Moth to travel from one place to another while hitching a ride is how the Gypsy Moth got it’s name.  It traveled from Europe to the East Coast and has slowly been making it’s way West and has been found along the North Shore in Minnesota.  Since the females do not fly the only way the moths can travel is when their eggs are transported on something such as camping equipment, wheel wells, or fire wood.  Gypsy Moths can devastate an entire forest by eating all of the leaves on a tree and leaving it weak and vulnerable to disease.   Where there is one Gypsy Moth there are usually hundreds so they can cause alot of damage.  In order to prevent the spread of Gypsy Moths on the North Shore the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are planning to release an environmentally safe product by airplane to confuse the male moths so they cannot find the females to mate.  This treatment will be released from an airplane in late July or early August depending upon the development of the moth and the weather conditions.  Let’s all do our part in the fight against the gypsy moth and keep an eye out for egg masses.  If you will be traveling from Wisconsin this summer then be sure to remove any egg masses you may find before coming to Minnesota.  You can learn more about the Gypsy Moth at this website.