Spraying Gypsy Moths To Protect Habitat On Pennsylvania Game Lands

By Ammoland Editor Joe Evans

USA -(Ammoland.com)- In an effort to protect wildlife habitat, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will spray for gypsy moths on more than 23,907 acres of state game lands beginning next week.

Spraying will occur on 14 different state game lands, in areas identified as having the greatest need for treatment to prevent defoliation and tree loss due to gypsy moth damage.

“Those participating in spring gobbler season might encounter helicopters or other aircraft spraying state game lands or other forested areas,” said Dave Gustafson, Game Commission Chief Forester. “We want those hunters to rest assured that the spray – Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) – is not harmful to humans, and it usually only takes a few hours to complete each spray block.”

The spraying follows a 2016 statewide inventory of gypsy-moth impacts that detected defoliation on more than 15,000 acres.

“This year, we are spraying additional acreage beyond what was actually defoliated last year,” Gustafson said. “Based on the egg mass counts in 2016, we anticipate some local gypsy-moth populations are growing again, and we want to be proactive to prevent a population build-up that would result in similar defoliation and loss.”

The game lands to …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand