Gypsy moth spraying done; state to set traps this summer

OLYMPIA — State agricultural officials have finished spraying parts of Western Washington to kill leaf-eating gypsy moths. Now, they plan to set out thousands of traps this summer to see whether those treatments worked.

The Department of Agriculture on Tuesday completed the last of 21 treatments that began about two weeks ago. The state has sprayed a biological insecticide over 10,500 acres across Puget Sound, including Seattle’s Capitol Hill, Lacey, Tacoma, Nisqually and Vancouver.

Each site was treated three times to kill moths that devour shrubs and trees and can make forests more vulnerable to other problems.

The spraying was done after Asian and European gypsy moths were caught in traps around the region last year.