Keep a close eye on your trees and shrubbery.

Gypsy moths are making a comeback, and the little caterpillars are bringing along their big appetites.To combat this growing nuisance, the Carbon County commissioners have decided to participate in the 2015 Gypsy Moth Suppression Program through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry, Division of Forest Pest Management. The county has not had to participate in this program since 2009.On Thursday, the board asked David Horvath, director of Mauch Chunk Lake Park and the person in charge of the gypsy moth program, to provide an update on the preparation efforts for inclusion into the program.Horvath said that park crews identified the problem, which he referred to as an "outbreak population" at the lake in late spring."We noticed an explosion of gypsy moths in the park, particularly in the camping areas," he said. 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.Horvath brought the find to the commissioners, who sent a letter to the state in July stating the county's intention to participate in the 2015 suppression program.Following that action, 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.Horvath said that 25 landowners called, and 15 properties qualified for inclusion in the program.Approved properties are then sprayed with insecticide in the spring to kill a number of the larvae.To qualify, a property must have 250 egg masses per acre, and be either forested residential, forested recreational, forested special use or a public water supply.Egg masses are determined using a specific formula. One plot of the forested area, which is 0th of an acre in size, is surveyed and egg masses are counted. That number is then multiplied by 40 to get the per-acre count.Horvath said that of the 15 properties that qualify for the program, the highest egg mass per acre was 2,000.Areas around Mauch Chunk Lake Park also had egg masses near 1,700 per acre.Horvath said that the properties will now need to be approved by the state before they are included in the program. The final proposal must be submitted by Nov. 1.He said that this is a shared-cost program, meaning that landowners and the county will be responsible for paying $27 per acre that is sprayed.The exact number of acres that will be sprayed has yet to be determined by the state.The suppression program isn't meant to eradicate the gypsy moths, Horvath said, but rather suppress the "outbreak populations.""We haven't seen gypsy moths of this magnitude in many years," he said, noting that there will always be gypsy moths present in the environment.If the county chose to do nothing, Horvath said it could have had a "devastating effect" on forests.He said that trees that were being defoliated would tap into their food reserves to put on a second growth of leaves. This would leave them stressed for the winter months. They will also begin to die back at the tops of the branches, leaving them susceptible to insect attacks and disease.After a few years of defoliation, tree mortality would result.The pestThe gypsy moth, or Lymantria dispar, has been a pest to the northeastern United States since being introduced from Europe to Massachusetts in 1869, DCNR reports.The bug was first discovered in Pennsylvania in 1932, when it was found living in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.It is typically known to homeowners in its larval stage as a caterpillar.During the bug's life cycle, a female lays 400 to 600 eggs, which hatch in late April.The caterpillars then feed on foliage as they mature. Highly favored species include apple, aspen, basswood, beech, birches, box elder, hawthorn, larch, oaks, willows and witch hazel trees.By late June or early July, gypsy moth caterpillars burrow into tree trunks and create pupas, where they will remain for about two weeks. They will then emerge as adults by late July.After decades of dealing with the pests, DCNR's Bureau of Forestry created the suppression program in 1968, which has helped cut down on the amount of damage caused by these insects.