County planning staff have recommended two cost-effective management tools to assist county residents combat the LDD moth infestation.
At the virtual county council meeting on Thursday, councillors heard from Coun. Allan Alls, who is the chair of the county planning committee, of two common methods for managing the moths on private property: banding kits and egg and pupae scraping.
Although the aforementioned methods are relatively cost-effective options, they are practical if landowners are dealing with a small number of trees as both methods are labour intensive.
Planning staff recommends pesticide application if landowners are dealing with numerous trees or in a woodlot.
In the report submitted by Meagan Ferris, manager of planning and environment, which was presented by Alls during the Thursday meeting, banding kits are the common management method.
Banding kits can range in material types, complexity and price, however, the most cost effective type is burlaping. A wide piece of burlap is required to be wrapped around the trunk of a tree, secured in the middle with a rope and the burlap is folded over the rope. The caterpillars become caught on the burlap material and will hide under the fold of the burlap.
Alternatively, the manual scraping of the eggs and pupae can also be effective as it removes the insect before it hatches into a caterpillar. The egg masses typically hatch in April and should be scraped prior to that.
“During our planning committee meeting on Feb. 9, the committee received information regarding the recommended cost-effective application methods for LDD moths,” said Alls.
“We’ve also launched an information webpage regarding the LDD Moth to provide an educational resource for county residents. The webpage includes information about the moth’s various life stages; identifying features of the insect throughout its life; and what can be done on private property, including instructions for using a burlaping banding method and manual scraping of egg masses.”
Councillors were satisfied with the report with Coun. David Anderson noting that the LDD moths will devastate area trees once again since spring is nearing.
“It’s nice to know that this information is out now before spring so county residents can prepare and we are able to nip this in the bud,” said Anderson.
