Gypsy Moth Eradication in Renton, Tukwila Begins This Week

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) announced today gypsy moth caterpillar eradication treatments will begin this week in Tukwila, most likely on May 1. The infestation of European gypsy moth is centered at Interurban Avenue South and South 149th Street near the Starfire Soccer Complex, which runs along the Green River and Renton city limits.

WSDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture jointly approved the project, after a 30-day review period on two environmental documents.

Three to five treatments will be conducted at a 10.5-acre site, centered at the America's Best Value Inn & Suites in Tukwila at 14800 Interurban Ave. South. The ground-level spray treatments will take place three to 14 days apart.

The exact date of the first treatment depends on larval development, leaf development and weather conditions.

Operators will use ground equipment to apply a biological insecticide to trees, shrubs and other foliage that may harbor tiny gypsy moth caterpillars.

Later in July, the eradication effort will continue with an aircraft flyover to treat a surrounding 180-acre site with an agent (disparlure) that disrupts mating behavior in adult gypsy moths.

Aircraft are expected to spray over the Millenium Centre office park in Renton, home to several financial services & medical businesses.

The aircraft will release tiny pheromone-impregnated flakes to disrupt mating, a strategy that has been used in several other states.

Gypsy moth is a destructive forest pest and can also affect urban landscapes when the caterpillars feed on plants, shrubs and trees, including maple, alder, apple and poplar.

Visit www.agr.wa.gov/PlantsInsects/InsectPests/GypsyMoth/ for more information or call the WSDA gypsy moth toll-free hotline at 1-800-443-6684.