Dennis, Upper Target Gypsy Moth in ‘08

DENNISVILLE — Gypsy moths are one visitor that will not be welcome back to Cape May County in 2008.
Dennis Township Municipal Hall was packed Aug. 2 with people gathered for a meeting called by Assemblymen Jeff Van Drew and Nelson Albano (both D-1st) along with Mayors John Murphy of Dennis Township, and Richard Palombo of Upper Township.
The standing-room crowd wanted to know what officials plan to do at the state and local levels to help deal with severe defoliation that has affected over 4,400 acres this year in those municipalities.
They also heard from Joseph Zoltowski, Department of Agriculture bureau chief handling plant and pest diseases. He explained what gypsy moths do and what people can do to eliminate the voracious pests.
Gypsy moths are not native to North America, and were introduced into New England in the 19th century in a failed effort to improve that region’s silk industry.
Property owners expressed chagrin, concern, and dismay, as they shared experiences in dealing with entire plots of oak, pine, and other trees stripped of their leaves, yards filled with dead caterpillars, and such an abundance of caterpillars falling from trees that it sounded like rain striking the roofs of their homes.
“That’s why we called this meeting,” Van Drew, a South Seaville resident, agreed. “As an affected homeowner, I’ve lost a lot of trees this summer. We want to be on whatever the cutting edge is for doing the right thing to handle this problem.”
“I’m right in the middle of it.” Murphy concurred. “I want to be able to go out in the morning and enjoy a cup of coffee in my yard.”
Zoltowski detailed the chronology of gypsy moth treatment. He noted that the aerial defoliation completed by his program is done in May, he explained that local municipalities must act now because the department will begin conducting ground egg mass surveys this month. That survey will result in detailed mapping of areas that are affected.
Because of the costs of treating, surveyors will be looking for 40 contiguous acres with at least 520 egg masses per acre. That size acreage is the smallest parcel that can be feasibly treated by aerial spraying.
“After surveying, we do an initial follow-up with municipality in the fall.” Zoltowski explained, “then another follow-up in January to tell them where they can spray.
Municipalities bear the cost of spraying and must follow a set of time sensitive protocols before the process can be completed. Those include public notification of time date of spraying, passing resolutions citing the gypsy moth as a “public nuisance”, and marking areas to be treated.
“There’s a lot of red tape these days,” he said in response to a question from the audience wondering why they can’t “just spray the entire township.”
“The days we can just call in a plane are gone,” he said.
Lastly, he cautioned, local government shouldn’t hope for much financial help from either the state or federal governments.
Complicating the matter further is the type of treatment that can be applied.
Campground owner George Reagan of Upper Township wanted to know what the “most effective chemical treatment would be.”
“Sevin.” Zoltowski replied without hesitation. “But we can’t use it because of environmental and health concerns.”
The department is limited by regulation to use bacillus thuringiensis, or BT, which has been used since 1985. Caterpillars have to eat the stuff in order for it to work.
“It makes them stop eating and it doesn’t affect anything else.” Zoltowski explained.
The drawback: in best case scenarios, there will be a 65% caterpillar reduction. Therefore, the department recommends a second dose in especially affected areas.
Another chemical, the growth regulator dimalin, is more effective. But, because of environmental concerns, the DEP must approve changes to regulations before the department of agriculture is permitted to use it.
In 2004, 6,400 acres of New Jersey were defoliated by gypsy moth. That number jumped to 44,000 in 2005, 125,000 in 2006, and 320,000 this year.
“We expect next year to be at least as bad.” Zoltowski noted.
Zoltowski suggested that concerned municipalities and individual property owners can hire ground sprayers.
“They’re not as closely regulated as we are as to what they can spray.” He pointed out.
“I’d also suggest professional arborists, like Asplundh, who can come in and treat entire trees up to the canopies.”
But it’s expensive, he added, costing more than $1000 per property in some instances.
Van Drew indicated that he would work with the Department of Community Affairs to obtain budget exemptions for municipalities dealing with figuring in the costs of spraying while keeping within budget cap restraints.
Upper mayor Palombo vowed to work with Murphy to deal with the problem on a united front.
“We chose not to spray this year. That was a huge mistake.” Palombo noted. “We’ll be working with Dennis to right this ship.”
Nature usually has a way of dealing with imbalances on its own. In this case, there is a naturally occurring fungus that has been effective against the gypsy moth. However, this spring’s dry conditions rendered that option ineffective.
Long time Clermont resident Bob Murray has seen the gypsy moth in action before.
“Back in the 1980’s, it was so bad on Hagen Road with caterpillars that the road was slick with them and when you drove down the road your car would slide.”
However, if forces gathered in Dennis Township municipal hall have their way, that bit of history won’t repeat itself in 2008.