Residents may sign up for gypsy moth sprays

By Christie Taylor, Capital Newspapers

SAUK COUNTY — Sauk County residents have until the middle of next month to sign up for state-sponsored spring gypsy moth sprays, the Sauk County Land Conservation Department announced Thursday, part of a continued effort to prevent the pest's westward spread.

Landowners with 20 or more acres of forest are eligible for inclusion in the spring spraying, if they have high numbers of eggs on their trees.

"If you can count 25 egg masses in a 30-foot diameter circle, you are probably near the threshold number to qualify," county conservationist Joe Van Berkel said.

Van Berkel said the tan, woolly egg masses, which can hatch more than 500 caterpillars each, are best viewed in the fall after the leaves have dropped.

"The ... egg masses will be found on the underside of branches, often high in the trees, so binoculars may be necessary," Van Berkel said.

The spray, which will be applied to eligible land in June, is a bacterial insecticide which attacks caterpillars' digestive systems, and is harmless to humans and pets. Van Berkel said the spray would be used sparingly, though, to minimize harm to native caterpillars.

The final cost to individuals will not be determined until spring, but Van Berkel said it generally fell under $40 per acre.

Sauk County is part of the western edge of the state's gypsy-moth quarantine, which mandates that trees and other potential carriers must be inspected for signs of the moth before they are transported outside the quarantine zone.

The department saw a spike in the moth's population two years ago in Rocky Arbor, Devil's Lake and Mirror Lake state parks. The parks have since undergone annual spraying to kill the caterpillars, but, Van Berkel said, the moth has now been found outside state parks, including in Merrimac, Lake Buckhorn, and the bluffs west of Baraboo.

Van Berkel said already there were 40-acre parcels in the eastern part of the state that had been stripped bare by the caterpillars.

"They'll chew off the leaves but that doesn't necessarily kill the tree," he said. "What happens more often is that it weakens the tree and then some other infestation or disease comes in and takes advantage of that condition."

To report high egg counts and sign up for spraying, call Sauk County Land Conservation at 355-3245. The deadline to qualify for the program is November 12th.

More information about gypsy moths, including photos of egg masses and other stages of development, can be found at gypsymoth.wisconsin.gov