Gypsy moth treatment scheduled for aerial application Friday in Allamakee and Clayton
Lansing Wildlife Management area in Allamakee County ... The aerial treatment area for gypsy moth pictured above is described as including the Lansing Wildlife Management area north of Lansing. The 2,192-acre area shaded in red depicts the area that will receive the aerial treatment this Friday, June 25 and is located between Cedar Hill and Gruber Ridge Road (western boundary) and State Highway 26 (eastern boundary), with the treatment area extending just over Spring Valley Drive to the north and just beyond Whitetail Drive to the south. Image courtesy of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Black Hawk Point area in Allamakee County ... The aerial treatment area for gypsy moth pictured above is described as near the Black Hawk Point area south of New Albin. The 2,826-acre area shaded in red depicts the area that will receive the aerial treatment this Friday, June 25 and is located just south of the Upper Iowa River and a bit further north than Desert Drive and Majestic View Lane between Morgan Bridge Road and State Highway 26 (with a slight overlap east of Highway 26). Image courtesy of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Marquette area in Clayton County... The aerial treatment area for gypsy moth pictured above includes the community of Marquette and a 590-acre swath directly to the north for approximately two miles at a width of about one mile. The aerial treatment is scheduled to take place in that area this Friday, June 25. Image courtesy of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Aerial treatment to control the invasive gypsy moth is scheduled for this Friday, June 25 in specific areas of Allamakee and Clayton Counties. Map images and more specific descriptions of the treatment areas can be found in the images accompanying this article.
Low-flying airplanes will be applying a mating disruption product called SPLAT GM-O. The product does not kill the moth but it disrupts the mating process by using a pheromone to inhibit male gypsy moths from finding female mates. SPLAT GM-O is an organic product and is not harmful to bees, birds, plants, pets or humans.
In Allamakee County, the treatment includes two rural areas around Black Hawk Point and Lansing Wildlife Management Areas totaling 5,018 acres. In Clayton County, the treatment will focus on a 590-acre site including Marquette and the surrounding rural area. Survey data has identified these three areas where gypsy moth populations are starting to grow.
The treatment is being conducted in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the national Gypsy Moth “Slow the Spread” program. Iowa is one of many states in the “Slow the Spread” program that monitors and treats isolated populations to slow the gypsy moth’s advancement into uninfested areas.
“Iowa has addressed start-up populations of the gypsy moth using mating disruption since 2011 through participation with the Slow the Spread Program,” said Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Emerald Ash Borer and Gypsy Moth Coordinator. “Iowa is not listed as a gypsy moth-infested state and we would like to keep it that way as long as possible.”
The gypsy moth feeds on over 300 species of trees and shrubs, with a preference for oaks. During outbreaks, gypsy moth caterpillars are capable of stripping the leaves off of host trees over wide geographic areas and can be a public nuisance during an outbreak. Repeated defoliation can leave a tree vulnerable to diseases or other pest infestations which can lead to the death of the tree.
For more information on the gypsy moth, including maps of the treatment areas and an address specific locator, visit iowagypsymoth.com. Treatment is weather-dependent. Area citizens can visit this website or listen to a pre-recorded update about the treatment date by calling 855-497-7966 or 515-725-1464.
