Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

The Gypsy Moth Fall Egg Mass Survey has been completed for Grand Traverse County.  We visited over 45 permanent spray blocks throughout the County; areas that have been sprayed in past years and often have building populations. We only had seven nuisance calls for gypsy moths this year, and several people reported caterpillar die-off due to a fungus. There are a few areas that have borderline counts of egg masses that have the potential to have nuisance levels of caterpillars in 2009. However, the counts for Grand Traverse County as a whole are minimal and are below the threshold to qualify for the Aerial Suppression Program, if there is one offered by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. It is unknown at this time if there will be a Suppression Program, and if so, what the cost share would be.

Because of the very low levels of egg masses in Grand Traverse County this year, Grand Traverse County Physical Resources voted not to participate in the Suppression Program for 2009, if offered by MDA.