Ten years ago, Lorraine Pierre moved from Long Island to the Tall Oaks subdivision in Franklin Township for its nature, beauty and friendly people.

In 2015, only the people remain.Pierre said her property, along Vilno Drive, has been attacked the last two years by gypsy moths, drastically changing the scenery she once enjoyed."Ninety percent of my trees have no leaves left on them," Pierre said somberly while standing in her yard Tuesday."I had a little grove of black gum trees that I've been told were around since the dinosaurs and they're gone. My mature 100-foot chestnut trees are gone. My oaks don't even have half a leaf on them. It's a mess."Pierre started noticing the problem last year and contacted Dave Horvath, director of Mauch Chunk Lake Park, for help.In 2014, Carbon County participated in the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' gypsy moth suppression program, but as Pierre found out, it wasn't just as simple as signing up for the spray.Criteria includes having a total of 23 acres of forested residential property that must contain trees 25 feet or more in height and be comprised of at least 20 percent or more of highly favored species, including apple, aspen, basswood, beech, birches, box elder, hawthorn, larch, oaks, willows and witch hazel trees; and also have at least 250 healthy gypsy moth egg masses per acre, which is determined by Horvath using a specific equation."Dave came out to my house and counted my egg masses and I easily met the qualifications," Pierre said. "So I did the legwork and went around to all my neighbors so that we could get 23 acres together to be in this program. After I did all that, Dave told me the state wasn't going to spray in 2014, so I did it all for nothing."Pierre turned to Seitz Brothers, but when the company went to her property, they also gave her bad news."My trees were over 100 feet and their spray could only get to 65 feet," she said. "They said the spray would only get halfway up the tree and it would still only be on the trunk."Back to sprayingThe state itself only restarted its suppression program in 2013 in Cameron, Clarion, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, Potter and Tioga counties.After a three-year absence of severe gypsy moth damage in state woodlands, the invasive forest pest in some areas multiplied in 2013 to the point where more than 148,000 acres were defoliated, and an additional 170,600 acres were damaged by the insect and heavy, late spring frosts.Before spring 2013, DCNR last sprayed for gypsy moths in 2009, when more than 178,380 acres in 25 counties were targeted across the state. In 2008 a total of 221,221 acres of private, state and federal woodlands were sprayed in 27 counties."The decision to resume spraying in selected areas at that time followed a second consecutive year of oak defoliation by gypsy moth larvae in the northeast and north- and south-central regions of the state," said Donald Eggen, DCNR forest health manager.Before that, a naturally occurring fungus proved deadly to the insect that defoliates certain hardwoods."My biggest complaint is the state had this problem fixed and they stopped spraying," Pierre said. "Now they tell you that you can get together with your neighbors to get 23 acres and split the cost for the spraying. They killed my trees by stopping the spray, why should I have to pay for this. It's too late now anyway."This year, a total of 774 acres were sprayed in the county at a cost of $26 per acre for a total of $20,124. Of that total, 610 acres was Mauch Chunk Lake Park property and cost the county $15,860. The remaining 164 acres was private residents who qualified to be part of the spraying, and they shared the $4,264 balance."Gypsy moth populations have been on the increase in the Carbon County area for the past two years," Eggen said. "The warm dry spring has helped the gypsy moth populations because the fungus disease is limited, as cool wet springs help the fungus."Life cycleGypsy moths generally migrate each day from the leaves and down the branches and trunk to rest in shaded spots on the tree or objects on the ground, according to a DCNR fact sheet.Tiny, black young caterpillars are windblown to their food plants, where they will feed day and night but older stages of the caterpillars feed only at night to avoid drying out in the hot sun or being eaten by predators.One generation of gypsy moth occurs per year and includes egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult stages. Female moths lay egg masses on tree boles, branches, vehicles, houses, and other structures, and this aids their spread to new areas.They survive the winter in the egg stage and hatch from mid-April to mid-May in Pennsylvania when temperatures are above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. During the day, they rest under leaf litter and bark crevices near the bottom of the tree.Adult gypsy moths emerge about two weeks after pupating. Adults only live about a week, and do not feed. Female gypsy moths use chemicals to attract a mate soon after they emerge. They lay eggs about a day after mating.Causing troubleOak, apple, sweet gum, basswood, birch, aspen, and willow trees are affected the most by the gypsy moth. Older larvae also will feed on hemlock, pines, spruces, northern white cedar, and other conifers.A tree begins to suffer when 30 percent or more of its leaf surface is lost.Pierre has seen leaves disappear at a rapid rate and with them, protection for birds' nests."I've seen nests being attacked when the eggs are in there," she said. "It's horrible. I've also seen more hawks and falcons over my property because there is no shelter for the wildlife."Gypsy moth fecal droppings are covering Pierre's deck and patio furniture.The noise of it falling through what little leaves are left on her trees also scares her dog."My dog won't do her business," Pierre said. "I have to walk her around the neighborhood just to get her to go. She gets freaked out."Controlling and killing mothsCarbon County commissioners have advocated the use of Sevin, a concentrated spraying insecticide available at many home improvement stores, on trees and bushes.Pierre used Sevin along with Bug B Gon and a number of different chemicals, with very underwhelming results.Susan Gallagher, naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center, suggested using a soapy water spray."If you are going to use something less toxic, the earlier in the life cycle you hit them the better," Gallagher said. "There is also burlap you can wrap around the base of the tree. That also works better when they are younger. Now that we're getting to that point in the life cycle, you can scrape the egg masses off the trees. That will help lessen the extent of the damage next year."According to a Homeowners' Guide to Gypsy Moth Management produced by West Virginia University, natural biological controls "will not prevent gypsy moth populations from escalating to outbreak proportions.""Using chemical pesticides to reduce defoliation during high population densities is still the least expensive and most effective option," the report states. "The choice of what pesticide to apply comes down to a value judgment for each homeowner."The University suggests looking at toxicity, or LD50, values, when choosing a pesticide. Values of less than 50 are highly toxic, 50-499 are moderately toxic, 500-5,000 are slightly toxic and more than 5,000 are relatively non-toxic.To directly kill egg masses, an application of 50 percent soybean oil and 50 percent water has also proven effective, according to the guide.