The gypsy moths' days are numbered; at least Palmerton Borough Council hopes so. Members voted last week to pursue a program to spray the deforesting insects next spring.

Palmerton Borough manager Rodger Danielson suggested to council members that the borough apply for spraying of Borough Park and Memorial Park. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry, Division of Forest Pest Management, has a gypsy moth suppression program.David Horvath, director of Mauch Chunk Lake and Carbon County Parks and Recreation and the county's gypsy moth spray program coordinator, said the program cost $26 per acre this year. Next year, the cost could be $50 to $52 per acre, but he hasn't been notified of the exact cost yet.Danielson estimated for the council that the borough's cost would be between $1,000 and $1,500."We had quite an infestation of gypsy moths," Danielson told the council.According to DCNR's 2014 prediction of gypsy moth infestations in Pennsylvania for 2015, the greatest number of egg masses (800 or more egg masses per acre) would be found in Carbon County and its closest neighbors, including Schuylkill, Luzerne, Lehigh, Monroe, Northumberland, Northampton and out to Pike and Lackawanna counties."We did have a lot of defoliation," Horvath said. "The population really exploded."Some areas in the county had egg mass counts of 1,500 or more.The DCNR website showed a map of the area sprayed in Carbon County this year. It stretched from just south of Hickory State Park through Nesquehoning south to Summit Hill. Palmerton and Lehighton were not included in the spray area.The deadline for registering for next year's spraying was Aug. 30. Residents were eligible for the program, too, Horvath said, but there are specific criteria for eligibility.The homeowner's property must be in a forested area with at least 50 percent being covered with a forest canopy. There must also be a minimum of 250 egg masses per acre.Before voting on the measure, Councilwoman Holly Hausman Sell asked Danielson how the spraying is done and if the residents would be notified when the spraying would occur.Danielson replied that it is aerial spraying and he is not aware of any health-related problems for humans.In the telephone interview, Horvath said the spray is applied from a helicopter or airplane flying about 60 feet above the tree line."The idea is to make sure the insecticide lands on the leaves," he said.A lot of the determination for spraying depends on leaf development, Horvath said. Forest Pest Management waits until the leaves are well-established and the gypsy moth larvae are into the instar stage of development.The moths' favorite is oak. The DCNR website also listed apple, alder, aspen, basswood, birch, poplar, willow, hawthorn, hemlock, tamarack (larch), pine, spruce and witch hazel as part of their diet.Horvath said spraying usually begins in southeast Pennsylvania in mid-May, but can occur anytime between April and June. The exact day for spraying is dependent on good weather and calm winds, which pilots need for safe flying and accurate application of the insecticide. Typically, the spraying is done in the early morning hours, he said. Anyone within the treatment area will be notified several weeks before the spraying occurs. For the Carbon County area, notification will probably take place in mid-April.For residents who did not apply for spraying or would not qualify, DCNR has a 19-page guide on its website for homeowners concerned about gypsy moths. It is accessible at

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20026635.pdf. The website also includes links to the "U.S. Forest Service Pest Alert for Gypsy Moth" and a "Forest Health Fact Sheet" with includes detailed information about the life cycle, stages and controls of gypsy moths.