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Loggers
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next to nothing.”
He said that in one case the landowner was told that his tulip poplar trees were at risk from the gypsy moths. Ironically, tulip poplar is one of the few trees which gypsy moths do not like. It is, however, Mr. McCarthy added, becoming a popular and valuable wood in the Asian lumber market.
So far, the cases have been confined to Wakefield District, between Flint Hill and Chester Gap in the northern end of the county. That is the area where the defoliation by the caterpillars first appeared and remains most severe, though it is slowly spreading south along the Blue Ridge Mountains on the western edge of the county.
In some cases, he said, the landowners have been told that once the trees are defoliated for two or three years, they will die. That is not true, Mr. McCarthy emphasized.
Some trees do die after having been attacked by the caterpillars for several years. But most of those which succumb are old, diseased, or otherwise weakened by drought or other factors, Mr. McCarthy explained.
“It has become something of a con game,” the county administrator said. “People are so scared of gypsy moths . . . and there are buyers willing to exploit that panic.”
Mr. McCarthy said his concern is that when people realize they have been taken, they are often reluctant to admit it. Thus, the unscrupulous loggers continue to prey on other unsuspecting landowners.
“Lumber, especially hardwood, is an asset,” Mr. McCarthy said. “To
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