And now the real gypsy moth battle begins.
At least that’s the way Andrew Combes sees it.
The Copeland Creek resident is leading the charge in his Tiny Township neighbourhood to trap and capture the moths after they emerge from their caterpillar cocoons.
Combes noted the infestation of gypsy moths is now into its second year and shows no signs of abating with local residents regularly trying to remove the pesky invasive species from their deciduous trees.
“It is a hot topic everywhere,” Combes said, noting he’s not usually one to sit around and wait for the inevitable.
“I decided to do something about it! In two to three weeks, the adult moths will be emerging and breeding - setting up for the scourge to continue next year.”
But therein lies an opportunity to do something about it, according to Combes, who pointed out that only the males fly and they can be trapped extremely effectively by the use of bottle traps baited with pheromones.
“Unsurprisingly, the traps offered by retailers and the pheromone lures themselves are completely sold out across Canada and the northeast USA,” Combes said.
Combes, however, found a supplier in Oregon and ordered in bulk at a “very advantageous” price.
He’s been offering two pheromone units for $5 to friends and neighbours and plans to donate all monies from the sale of the lures to Gateway Centre for Learning, a literacy resource charity based in Midland that helps residents across the region.
“Once word got out it was difficult for me to lift the lid on my MacBook given the absolute flood of ‘orders’ that arrived,” Combes said.
As it stands now, it looks like Copeland Creek will be home to around 180 traps.
“Given that a trap made from a two-litre juice jug is entirely capable of trapping 4,000 moths a week, we hope to make a real dent in the population locally,” Combes said. “It is the only way we will regain the use of our outdoor spaces and save our trees, which are being grossly defoliated for a second consecutive year.
“Beyond that, I should like to form a group the aim of which will be to bring home to our municipal and county authorities the quite staggering effect this invasive species wreaks on the ability of residents to safely enjoy the all too short summer.”
Combes also notes that many municipalities use aerial spraying of BTK to control the caterpillar stage of the moth life-cycle.
“Unless a county-wide plan is formulated we can expect our early summers to be untenable for the foreseeable future,” he added.
But for now, Combes has created what he calls the “gypsy moth war room map of Copeland Creek with each green dot representing a property that will be placing traps once the moths emerge.
“Aside from Copeland Creek, I have a large order going to one of the beach associations and a number to friends and acquaintances locally,” he said, noting there's also a You Tube video on how to make your own trap.
“I expect to distribute all 400 lures very easily - people will pick up from me at a designated day and time from my driveway.”
