Under a new £1.5m government fund announced this month, environmental wellness experts will increase the spraying of insecticide on oak trees in order to eradicate a pest moth that causes health problems and can strip the trees bare. This follows an announcement from the Forestry commission that they will undertake the first aerial spraying to guard the wellbeing of a woodland in West Berkshire. In May, the Forestry Commission will use a helicopter to blanket-spray the woodlands.
The extra funding to escalate efforts to control the oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea) will be targeted on areas in south and south-west London. The money will be spent on a pilot project to expand spraying in and around areas where the moth’s caterpillars have been found, and on trees where infestations are less obvious. The moth species was first found in England in 2006, and since then has affected the wellness of trees in Kew gardens and Richmond park, as well as the site outside Pangbourne in West Berkshire.
According to Lord de Mauley, parliamentary under secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), ‘Tree health is a priority for us and this pest not only affects our trees but can also cause skin irritation in people and animals. The additional funding will allow us see if a wider programme of spraying is effective in destroying these pests.’
Since 2009, Richmond council alone has spent £50,000 on spraying in a bid to stop the moths. However, Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP for Richmond, said that officials have previously dithered on control efforts, and so now stopping the infestation would now be ‘enormously expensive’. The insecticide being used to eliminate the moths is a widely used toxin, which is produced by a bacteria that occurs naturally in soil called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
This is not the only attempt to remove the infestations, however, as efforts are also being put into vacuuming caterpillars off trees. Yet, if you see nests of caterpillars, it is advised that you report it rather than trying to remove the nests yourself. This is because the insects’ hairs are toxic, and can cause allergic reactions such as rashes.
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