INDIANA — The Indiana Department of Natural Resources just finished up the first round of aerial treatments against the gypsy moth in Kosciusko, Fulton, Marshall, Porter and Tippecanoe counties on May 16.

Gypsy moths are an invasive species and are also considered the most serious forest and urban landscape pest in the United States.

For the first treatment, Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk), a bacteria that can be found naturally in soil, was used. It was sprayed over infested treetops to kill gypsy moth caterpillars as they feed.

The next phase of treatments aims at disturbing the mating process by creating a false abundance of female moths.

For Kosciusko, Fulton, Miami, Porter, and Wabash counties, the second round will begin the third week of June.

For more information on the treated areas, visit the Indiana Department of Natural Resource’s website, gypsymoth.IN.gov.

Further details about mating-disruption treatments will be announced in a news release in June.
The gypsy moth is an invasive species and is the most serious forest and urban landscape pest in the United States.

For more information, call (866) 663-9684 or call the local county extension office at (888) 398-4636.