GYPSY MOTH ERADICATION PROGRAM COMPLETED IN MARIN COUNTY

Biological pesticide applications proceed flawlessly

SACRAMENTO, June 6, 2001-A two-month, $600,000, pest eradication project targeted at the voracious Gypsy Moth has been completed in the Marin County community of Novato.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) began eradication efforts after 19 moths and eight egg masses were found last summer in a residential area surrounding the Marin Country Club.

The biological pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, was applied by ground crews and by helicopter. The ground crews were assigned to residential properties and the golf course, while the helicopter applied Bt to uninhabited oak woodlands

A post-treatment monitoring program will consist of weekly checks of traps within the treatment area. If no Gypsy Moths or egg masses are found for the next two years, eradication will be declared.

The Gypsy Moth is a non-native invasive tree destroying pest, originally from Europe, that defoliates millions of acres each year in the Midwest and Eastern United States. CDFA is the principal state agency charged with protecting people, commerce and the environment from exotic and invasive pests.

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FLEX YOUR POWER. To meet California’s energy challenge, CDFA urges businesses and consumers to conserve. For a list of simple ways that you can reduce demand and cut your energy costs, see our Web site @www.cdfa.ca.gov.