Moth eradication effort includes aerial spraying in August


By on Sat, February 23, 2008

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Light brown apple moth (male left, female right)

The county is beginning an effort to eradicated the Light Brown Apple Moth that will include distributing pheromone-coasted "twist-ties" this week, followed by aerial spraying in August, reports the County Times. 

Starting Monday officials with the California Department of Food and Agricultures will hang a series of red "twist ties" coated with the pheromone in trees along parts of Pescadero and Half Moon Bay where the moth has been found — 250 twist ties per acre in a 650-foot radius around each infested site.

Then, in August, the department plans to start aerial spraying of several Bay Area parks and cities where the incidence of the light brown apple moth is too high to make the twist-tie solution effective. Those locations include Daly City,
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State officials received more than 600 reports of adverse health effects following two aerial spraying sessions that occurred late last year in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, where the light brown apple moth was endemic. Residents reported symptoms that included breathing problems, eye irritation, coughing and headaches.
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Much of the concern around the Checkmate product does not focus on the pheromone itself — pheromones are a well-established method for fighting moth infestations — but on the inert ingredients that form the "capsule" around the chemical that allows it to take the form of a spray that falls to earth. The product manufacturer refused to disclose the inert ingredients until a judge ordered the CDFA to do so last October.

Be sure to read the original, highly-detailed story at he County Times.

There is a online petition for citizens who are concerned about the spraying and want it stopped.