FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, July 8, 2011

CONTACT:
Allen Sommerfeld, Communications Coordinator
651.201.6185, Allen.sommerfeld@state.mn.us

MDA to combat gypsy moth in Duluth by stopping moths from mating

Treatments set for week of July 11

St. Paul, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) plans to treat 460 acres of Duluth’s Park Point neighborhood on the week of July 11 for the invasive insect gypsy moth. The planned treatment will use a product to confuse the moths during their mating cycle.

The gypsy moth is a voracious pest that has defoliated forests and caused millions of dollars of damage in eastern states. Annual monitoring traps indicate a growing gypsy moth population on Park Point. The MDA is conducting this treatment to ensure the area is protected from this insect.

The MDA will be using a federally approved product called SPLAT.  This product contains a pheromone undetectable by humans or other animals that interferes with the male moth’s ability to locate a mate.  SPLAT is a waxy substance that will be hand-applied by ground crews.  The product is manufactured from waxes, vegetable oils, water and other food-grade ingredients. Small dollops of the substance will be applied to trees, shrubs or posts along the length of the point.

Since SPLAT will be ground applied by MDA employees and representatives of the agency, it is important the ground crews have access to the area. While state law gives MDA authority to come onto private property for the treatment, the department is asking for permission from homeowners. To ensure access for workers, residents are asked to please leave gates unlocked and open, if possible, and bring pets inside.

The SPLAT treatment is part of a national "Slow the Spread" project, which seeks to reduce the populations of gypsy moths infesting America's forests. Similar aerial treatments of the same pheromone compound have been conducted along the North Shore since 2006.

For more information, you can visit the MDA’s website at www.mda.state.mn.us/gypsymoth. If you have further questions, please call the Arrest the Pest Hotline at 888-545-MOTH.

-30-