Gypsy Moth Program in West Virginia

The gypsy moth is the most serious insect pest ever to invade West Virginia's forests.  The first adult male gypsy moths were trapped in West Virginia in 1972.  The first caterpillars were found in 1978.  Since then this destructive insect has continued to spread, while funding to combat the pest has been difficult to maintain.  These circumstances created the need for a gypsy moth cooperative suppression program for landowners in the generally infested areas in West Virginia. 

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has two objectives in its Gypsy Moth Program; first, to retard the spread of the pest into non-infested areas of the state through the Gypsy Moth Slow the Spread (STS) Program and, second, to suppress gypsy moth populations in infested areas to limit, as much as possible, defoliation and tree mortality through the WVDA Gypsy Moth Cooperative State County Landowner (CSCL) Program. 

The WVDA CSCL Program is between landowners, the County Commissions in the generally infested counties, the West Virginia University (WVU) Cooperative Extension Service, WVDA, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA-FS).  Aerial spraying will be done in the generally infested area on a demand basis only to minimize the damage to forests and reduce the impact of the gypsy moth in future years.  Spraying will not be done with the intent of eradicating the pest. The WVDA will offer gypsy moth treatment with either of two materials, Dimilin or Btk. The landowner may request the use of either material.  However, final approval for use will depend on site evaluation by WVDA.  The site evaluation will determine if an area meets criteria set forth on the label and other possible restrictions.

The goal of the WVDA STS Project is to use novel integrated pest management (IPM) strategies in order to reduce the rate of gypsy moth spread into uninfested areas. WVDA STS Program focuses on low-level populations in the transition zone between areas considered generally infested and generally uninfested. This new IPM strategy is dependent upon intensive monitoring of low moth populations coupled with timely control of growing isolated populations

Any state funds that become available will be used first to treat isolated infestations of the moth, which may occur outside the normal pattern of infestation, and low-density populations on the fringe of the main infestation.  If no such infestations or populations exist in a particular year, any available state funds will be used across the board to treat state lands and reduce the landowner share of the cost in the cooperative program.