PORT HUENEME : County to Set 637 Gypsy Moth Traps

Ventura County has stepped up its guard against infestation from the Asian gypsy moth, whose 2-inch-long, leaf-eating caterpillars have been called “potentially the worst insect pest threat ever seen in the United States.”

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $16,036 contract with the California Department of Food and Agriculture that will allow the county agricultural commissioner’s office to set 637 gypsy moth traps, said Kerry Bustamante, deputy agricultural commissioner.

Bustamante said her office began limited testing in May, but increased it because of concerns raised by a gypsy moth infestation in the Pacific Northwest, where the caterpillars prompted a $22-million bacteria spraying program.

No sign of the moth has been found in Ventura County, Bustamante said.

However, traps will be set over a 10-mile radius from Port Hueneme, which the U. S. Department of Agriculture identified as one of several high-risk California ports of entry for the pest, Bustamante said. Other ports include San Francisco, San Pedro, San Diego, West Sacramento, Eureka and Stockton, she said.

“They are not native to our country, so nature hasn’t developed natural enemies to keep their populations under control,” Bustamante said.

The Asian gypsy moth is a more dangerous relative of the better-known European gypsy moth, which has infested much of the eastern United States.

The Asian moth is a greater threat than the European variety because it destroys coniferous trees as well as the broad-leaved trees favored by the European moth, Bustamante said, making it a potential threat to California’s forests.

While the European variety cannot fly, the female Asian moth can fly up to 20 miles, which could help an infestation spread more rapidly.

Caterpillars of both gypsy moth varieties are distinctive because they sport pairs of blue and bright red dots on their backs and tufts of hair along their sides.

Bustamante said the seven-inch, tent-like traps use a synthetic sex pheromone that is so effective it can lure male moths from a mile away.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture said the Asian moth could be the nation’s worst-ever insect pest. The Asian gypsy moth first was identified in North America in late 1991 near ports in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.