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WSDA to hold "Ask the Expert" gypsy moth open houses
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) invites community members to attend "Ask the Expert" open houses in areas where spring gypsy moth treatments have been proposed.
WSDA and Washington State Department of Health staff will be on hand to answer questions from community members on WSDA's proposal to treat introductions of European and Asian gypsy moths detected this past summer in the areas of Gilberton, Crosby, Martha Lake, and Union Hill-Novelty Hill. The proposal calls for aerial spraying of a biological insecticide approved for use in organic agriculture. The product, Btk or Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, is a naturally occurring soil bacteria.
Residents can attend "virtual" or in-person open houses about the proposal. The virtual open house will be an online presentation and provide an opportunity to submit questions to a panel of experts. Login information for the webinar is available on WSDA's website and Facebook page. The four in-person open houses will be held in the affected communities:
February 2
- 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Seabeck Conference Center, Pines Room, 13395 Lagoon Dr. NW, Seabeck
- 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. - United Methodist Church, 8811 Ilahee Rd. NE, Bremerton
February 9
- 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. - North Creek Presbyterian Church, 621 164th St. SE, Mill Creek
- 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Fire Station #14, 5021 264th Ave. NE, Redmond
February 13
- 7 p.m. - "Virtual" open house. Visit agr.wa.gov/gypsymoth for login information.
There is no formal presentation at the in-person open houses. Instead, attendees can visit any time during the open house hours to view information at several stations and learn more about the project.
In 2018, WSDA trapped 51 European gypsy moths and one of the even more damaging Asian gypsy moths. Gypsy moths are a high-risk threat to Washington's environment. They have defoliated and killed millions of acres of forest across the Northeast and Midwest, and could devastate Washington's forests if they were to become established here. Permanent populations are not present in Washington due to the state's four decades of trapping and eradication efforts.