MOUNT VERNON – The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) will spray to control the invasive spongy moth in portions of the City of Mount Vernon and surrounding areas this spring.
Spongy moth caterpillars feed on leaves, weakening trees and shrubs and potentially killing them. The ODA has determined there is a growing population in this area and that a control treatment is needed.
The agency says treatments, which are made aerially, are not harmful to humans, animals, honeybees or plants.
The area to be treated includes the eastern portion of Mount Vernon, the village of Gambier and much of Monroe and Pleasant Townships, east to Monroe Mills Road.
Before this spring’s aerial treatments, the dates of which have not yet been announced, the ODA will hold a pair of virtual open houses to explain the various treatments to the public, on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at noon and Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m.
Links to the virtual open houses will be available soon on the homepage of agri.ohio.gov.
Anyone unable to attend one of the open houses can still make a public comment by emailing plantpest@agri.ohio.gov. The public comment period is open until Feb. 29, 2025.
The ODA will use airplanes or helicopters flying 100 to 200 feet above the treetops to spray the insecticide SPLAT GM-O, a non-toxic, biodegradable formulation that controls spongy moths using pheromones, which control the insects by eliminating their ability to mate.
The ODA advises that if the insecticide is found on vehicles or other surfaces it can be washed off with soap and water.
The spongy moth (Lymantria dispar), which has been an invasive insect in the U.S. for centuries, was known as the gypsy moth until 2022, when the Entomological Society of America changed the name of the insect due to the word “gypsy” being used as a derogatory term for the Romani people.