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Moth spraying starts
Despite shifting winds and mechanical problems with aircraft, the aerial spraying of gypsy moths is under way in Clarke County.
K&K Aircraft of Bridgewater began spraying the chemical dimilin Monday over a 3,000 acre area on the western slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Paris and Bluemont. The county and the state are sharing the cost of the spraying.
On Wednesday, K&K is expected to begin work on 4,000 more acres of Clarke County woodland. That acreage belongs to landowners who did not qualify for the state-paid program and who decided to pool their resources and pay for their own spray program.
The gypsy moths, which number in the millions, wreak their havoc during their caterpillar stage. In a matter of hours, the caterpillars can strip a tree of its foliage. Successive defoliations can kill a tree.
The chemical dimilin does not poison the caterpillars, which are now about one-half inch long. The caterpillars die because the dimilin inhibits them from developing their exoskeleton.
Several volunteers joined state officials on the ground to mark with helium balloons the boundaries of properties where landowners decided against the spray.
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