Ohio Department of Agriculture

Division of Plant Industry | Plant Pest Control

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Updated: 3/28/05

Printable format

• APHIS
• InvasiveSpecies.gov
• U.S. Forest Service
• OSU Gypsy Moth Site
• General Information
• News
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• Suppression

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Suppression Program

Click here for the Suppression Treatment Application package:

• Cover Letter

• Suppression Program Information

• Survey Request Application

• FAQs for Block Coordinators

• FAQs for Block Residents

• Chemicals

• Gypsy Moth Damage to Trees

• Landscape Trees and Shrubs for Gypsy Moth Infested Areas

• Treatment Maps

ODA's Gypsy Moth Suppression Program began in 1989.  Because the gypsy moth is already established in 49 counties in Ohio, the goal of the suppression program is not to eliminate the moth, but to protect trees and reduce defoliation in these areas.

This program is coordinated and funded by ODA, USDA Forest Service and private landowners wishing to participate through a 50/50 cost share.  This program is strictly voluntary. 

Landowners may request the state apply an aerial treatment for the gypsy moth by submitting an application through a "block coordinator" in late summer (deadline is Sept. 1).  ODA staff will then conduct a survey to determine if treatment block meets the criteria for suppression treatment.

Treatment criteria:

• Proposed block must be located in a county that has been designated quarantine for gypsy moth by ODA.

• Proposed block must contain a minimum of 50 contiguous forested acres.

• Proposed block must have a concentration of at least 250 egg masses per in residential forested areas or 1000 egg masses per acre in uninhabited forested areas.

• Proposed block must have a tree canopy that covers no less than 50% of the block.

• Proposed block must consist of at least 35% of tree species that are either susceptible or slightly resistant to the gypsy moth.

• Proposed block must receive a favorable T & E Assessment from ODNR and the US F & W Service.

Once approved, cost share payment from the landowners will be due by March 1 of the treatment year.

Treatment options include:

• Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) - A bacterium found in soils across the world and in Ohio, which when formulated as an insecticide acts as a stomach poison.

• Diflubenzuron - An insect growth regulator insecticide that works by preventing the formation of chitin, whish is an important structural component of the external skeleton of the gypsy moth larvae.

• Gypchek (Nucleopolyhedrosis virus) - The virus is one of several naturally occurring infectious microorganisms that control specifically gypsy moth.

In 2007, approximately 4,141 acres were treated in Ohio under the Suppression Program.

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