Gypsy moths still love Morris best

More than half of the declining acreage designated for spraying by New Jersey’s 2015 Aerial Gypsy Moth Suppression Program is found in two Morris County municipalities — Jefferson and Kinnelon.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture announced last week that surveys of 22 New Jersey municipalities identified areas in four towns in three counties qualify for this year’s effort to reduce the gypsy moth population

The department has proposed spraying a total of 498 acres in Morris, Passaic and Hunterdon counties. They include 288 acres in Morris County, 114 of them in Jefferson’s Mahlon Dickerson Reservation. Forty More acres in Kinnelon’s Silas Condict Park will receive similar treatment. Two residential areas in Morris County, not initially identified by the department, will be sprayed as well.

“This year’s spray program is part of our continued surveillance designed to keep gypsy moth populations low, preventing a nuisance to homeowners and protecting trees,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. “We have seen in the past how quickly populations can expand given the right conditions. We need to keep up our intense monitoring to suppress these tree-killing insects.”

Last year’s survey identified that the largest areas of gypsy moth defoliation in New Jersey were found in Morris County, with much of it concentrated in Rockaway Township and Kinnelon.

Gypsy moth egg mass surveys were conducted from August to December in the 22 municipalities and agencies that requested them. In addition to the Morris County sites, 123 acres in West Milford in Passaic County and 87 acres in Lebanon Township in Hunterdon County were identified as qualifying for the spray program.

Participation in the program is voluntary. If the towns agree, spraying would take place in late May and June.

To qualify for the spray program, a residential or recreational forest must have an average of more than 500 egg masses per acre and be at least 50 acres in size. A single egg mass contains up to 1,000 eggs, according to the department

Because of recent decreased gypsy moth populations, there has been no spray program since 2011, when just 274 acres were treated in Waterford and Winslow townships in Camden County.

In last summer’s aerial defoliation survey, West Milford had 267 acres of trees defoliated, Kinnelon had 118 acres and Lebanon had 18 acres. Statewide last year, there were 1,330 acres of trees stripped of their leaves by gypsy moth caterpillars in 24 towns in 11 counties.

Two to three consecutive years of significant defoliation (defined as at least 75 percent) can kill an otherwise healthy tree. But experts say any gypsy moth defoliation can make trees more susceptible to other damage that can lead to the death of the tree. Oak trees are known to be the preferred host for gypsy moths, but the caterpillars can be found feeding on almost any tree in the vicinity.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com

For more information on New Jersey’s gypsy moth suppression program, visit: www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/gypsymoth.html. Also, for national gypsy moth material, visit www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/gm/.