Spraying to Target Cankerworms, Gypsy Moths
Aerial and ground spraying will start this spring to take care of woodland pests across Fairfax County.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday designed to stop the woodland pests that can cause serious damage to Fairfax's natural resources. The 2013 Forest Pest Management Suppression Program attacks gypsy moths, fall cankerworms and other insects known to harm county green space. The program involves both ground treatment and aerial treatment, which will be carried out by helicopter. Cankerworm treatment will take place specifically in the Mount Vernon and Lee Districts. The pest control initiatives will kick off around April 2013. Cankerworms, which are typically called inchworms in the caterpillar stage, feed on leaves, and severe infestations of them can defoliate trees so severely that they die. The worms can …
In this Article:
Denise Shreeve
8:40 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013
Spinosad is hardly an "environmentally friendly chemical." According to a Cornell U. study: it is highly toxic to bees (pollinators), caterpillars (all butterflies and moths), and earthworms. It is very persistent in both soil and water, and is highly toxic to oysters and other marine mollusks. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors should read more about this dangerous chemical before they … more ›