Brant set to tackle gypsy moth outbreak
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Assistance is available to urban Brant County residents contending with gypsy moth outbreaks on their properties.
“There’s a lot urban residents can do, there is still time to get it done and we’re happy to provide assistance,” said Brant CAO Michael Bradley.
Councillors earlier approved plans to bring the problem under control on county-owned properties, with aerial spraying planned of more than 240 hectares.
An organic insecticide called Foray 48B, which contains a naturally occurring soil bacteria, will be applied twice, five to seven days apart. The treatment doesn’t harm humans or other wildlife and only affects feeding gypsy moth caterpillars.
Plans call for county staff to complete an assessment of the affected areas following the aerial spraying.
In addition, county officials have been working with individual rural property owners to help them address the problem, Bradley said.
He said residents can scrape the gypsy moth egg masses off leaves or they can use burlap or sticky tape to trap them once they’ve started hatching. They can also be sprayed off with a hose, he said.
For more information residents can visit www.brant.ca/en/resident-services/gypsy-moth.aspx# or send an e-mail to county officials at gypsymoth@brant.ca or call 519-442-7268 or 1-855-44BRANT, ext. 3203.
An invasive pest that first appeared in North America in the mid-1800s, gypsy moth caterpillars feed on both deciduous and coniferous trees, especially oak, cherry, birch, beech, spruce and pine trees. They have caused significant defoliation in several areas of the county.
Outbreaks have been found in Glen Morris, Harley, Kelvin, Onondaga-Middleport, the Clarke, Blue Lake and McPherson School roads area, the west side of the Paris to Bishopsgate Road and near the Brantford airport.
For more information about spray dates per location, follow the county’s website www.brant.ca/News and social media sites.
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