Carbon County is moving forward on the gypsy moth suppression program.

Plans call for spraying approximately 774 acres this spring, including 610 acres that encompass Mauch Chunk Lake Park property.The remaining land is privately owned by various county residents in Jim Thorpe, Summit Hill Mahoning, Penn Forest and Lehigh townships.The total cost of the spraying is $20,124. Of that amount, county residents will share the cost of $4,264.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said spraying is expected to begin sometime between late April and early June.Spraying, which will take place in the early morning hours and wrap up around 10 a.m., will be done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry and the USDA Forest Service.The treatment will include bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, formally known as Bt insecticide, being sprayed by aircraft over the infested forests because it only affects leaf-eating caterpillars and has been shown to not harm humans, pets, livestock or gardens.Results cannot be guaranteed in areas of severe infestations, such as a portion of Mauch Chunk Lake Park, where an egg mass count was near 1,700 per acre.Some defoliation may still occur.Once a timeline is set for spraying, the county will make information public and recommends residents stay indoors and away from the spraying zones during treatments.Areas near Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley and Weatherly school districts, that may have school children outside during the spraying time frames, will be notified ahead of time so they can keep students inside.Schools planning field trips in the spraying zones are also asked to contact David Horvath, program coordinator, ahead of time at 570-325-3669 or email

mauch1@ptd.net to verify spraying is not planned for the scheduled day.People who come in contact with the insecticide should wash with soap and water, and if eye irritation occurs, consult a family physician. Vehicles that are in the spray zones should also be washed as soon as possible to remove the residue.Maps of the infested areas are available for review at Mauch Chunk Lake Park's main office, located at 625 Lentz Trail, Jim Thorpe.For more information on the insecticides being used or the timing of the spraying, contact Scott Stitzer, Eastern Area Forest Pest Management Specialist, by mail at P.O. Box 315, Aristes, PA, 17920; or phone at 570-875-6450, ext. 114.Carbon County officials began looking into participating in the suppression program since mid-2014 after Horvath reported that park crews identified an "outbreak population" of gypsy moths at the lake.Crews noticed defoliation on the south side of the lake along the north face of the mountain, extending from the power lines to roughly around the dam area.In July 2014, the commissioners sent a letter to the state stating the county's intention to participate in the 2015 suppression program.Horvath began examining the area around the lake to see if it would qualify. The county also asked landowners who were experiencing problems with gypsy moths and who would like to participate in the spraying next spring to call. Of the 25 landowners who called, 15 properties qualified for inclusion in the program.To qualify, a property had to have 250 egg masses per acre, and be either forested residential, forested recreational, forested special use or a public water supply.