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Gypsy moth treatments end, pest trapping season starts
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) completed this year’s final gypsy moth eradication treatment on Sunday, June 9, and has begun its annual hunt for pests that threaten the state’s agriculture industry.
Trappers are now setting traps throughout the state to monitor for the introduction or spread of a variety of invasive pests, including gypsy moth, apple maggot and Japanese beetle.
As part of the agency’s largest pest program, trappers will place approximately 24,000 gypsy moth traps throughout the state this summer. This year’s effort includes intensive trapping in areas that the agency treated for gypsy moth in May and June in Kitsap, King, and Snohomish counties to ensure that the gypsy moths were eradicated in those areas.
Gypsy moths pose a significant risk not only to agriculture in the state but also threaten Washington’s forests, parks and cityscapes. Gypsy moths cause extensive ecological damage by eating more than 500 kinds of trees and shrubs and have been known to defoliate entire forests. Last year, for example, Massachusetts lost a quarter of all their hardwood trees, including three of every four oak trees. Gypsy moths also reproduce rapidly, each female laying 1,000 eggs or more, meaning early detection and eradication is critical to controlling this invasive species.
In addition to the gypsy moth traps, thousands of apple maggot traps will be placed in Eastern Washington. Apple maggot presents a significant risk to Washington’s iconic apple industry, but the majority of Washington’s main apple-growing region remains free of the pest. WSDA’s apple maggot trappers play a significant role in monitoring for and slowing the spread of apple maggot.
WSDA is also continuing heightened Japanese beetle trapping as Oregon is attempting to eradicate an outbreak near Portland of this pest that feeds on over 300 plants. Traps will be set this year with an emphasis in the Vancouver area and near airports.
To monitor these and other pests, trappers place grids of traps throughout the state at various densities. Residents are asked leave any insect traps they encounter undisturbed and report fallen traps to 1-800-443-6684. Visit agr.wa.gov for more information about WSDA’s pest trapping and monitoring program.