Some N.J. towns skip gypsy moth spraying

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Pemberton Township officials took a gamble last year, skipping a recommended pest-control program that would have cost $250,000.

Luck smiled on them. A host of gypsy-moth caterpillars stripped leaves from trees in other Burlington County municipalities and on ridges in the northern tip of the state. They defoliated more than 339,000 areas statewide, killing 17,000 acres of mostly hardwood trees.

But in Pemberton Township, the damage was minimal.

Now, some municipalities are following Pemberton's decision last year as they grapple with severe budget constraints. Towns had to notify the state Department of Agriculture last week if they wanted to participate in aerial spraying this spring of Bacillus thurningiensis, a bacterial agent that kills the voracious gypsy-moth caterpillars.

Tabernacle, a town hard hit by the pest in past years, is among those that said no. Based on a survey of egg masses that cling to tree barks, the state recommended spraying more than 5,000 acres - the largest targeted area in one town.

Shamong, which has about 2,300 acres the state recommends spraying, has also decided to pass this year.

The state doesn't have a final tally yet of the towns that are opting out, because it is still receiving answers from latecomers. Franklin Township in Gloucester County is among the towns that are waiting for state aid figures before making a decision.

State officials say the cyclical moth populations are declining, but they believe spraying should continue for at least the next year or two to keep the pest in check.

"We hope it's the right decision," said Tabernacle Administrator Douglas Cramer, noting his town would have had to budget more than $300,000 for the spraying, up from the $245,000 it paid last year.

"But there's always a chance they'll reenergize. We've had high populations long enough to know it's a gamble, but we feel the odds are in our favor."

Cramer laughed when asked whether officials cited Pemberton in reaching their decision.

"They all know about that," he said. But, officials also had to consider the enormous destruction that occurred two years ago in Shamong and Jackson when those towns did not spray.

"The mayor in Jackson took a lot of heat for that," said Cramer.

Besides tree loss and the decimation of the blueberry crop, the pest triggers angry complaints from residents who say they can't use their backyard decks because of caterpillar droppings that rain down from the trees.

But Cramer said the number of egg masses has noticeably decreased and a natural predator is controlling the pest better than it did in past years. He also said officials cut the program because they are concerned about a possible decrease in state aid. Federal reimbursement - which last year was only 23 percent - is also an unknown in the current economic storm, he said.

Sue Onorato, Shamong's administrator, said officials decided it would be "most prudent" to forgo the $140,000 spraying, especially since there is evidence the pest may be less troublesome this year.

"Last spring there were a number of egg masses that never hatched," she said.

Onorato also said residents are finding out that it is more effective for them to spray their own trees from the ground and to wrap sticky bands around the trunks to stop the caterpillars from reaching the upper leaves.

"Most residents are taking care of their own properties," she said.

But this year, Pemberton officials are taking the opposite approach. Despite anticipated layoffs and cutbacks, the town council voted unanimously last week to fund the spray program.

One reason is that the price has plummeted - to only about $80,000 - because the egg mass survey showed considerably fewer trees are at risk this year.

"It's not the quarter-million we were looking at last year," said Administrator Chris Vaz. He said residents have complained about the pest, which caused some damage in the town last year, though not as much as anticipated.

Monroe Township, in Gloucester County, also will participate in the program, estimated at $50,000 for about 1,000 acres.

"In the past we've had a lot of defoliation and people complained about all the feces left on their decks by the caterpillars," said Kevin Heydel, the administrator. "It's a huge quality-of-life issue for many people."