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Indiana DNR to spray in 3 counties for invasive gypsy moths

Gypsy moths strip trees bare of foliage in their caterpillar form.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this July 28, 2008, file photo, a female gypsy moth lays her eggs on the trunk of a tree in the Salmon River State Forest in Hebron, Conn. The scourge of insect pests is expected to put almost two-thirds of America’s forests at risk over the next decade. The gypsy moth, discovered in 1869 in Boston, is found in 20 states as of 2016, and has reached the northern Great Lakes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (AP Photo/Bob Child, File)

INDIANAPOLIS — State wildlife crews will begin an aerial spraying effort soon in three northern Indiana counties to combat an invasive moth that strips trees bare of foliage in its caterpillar form.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says that, weather permitting, it will begin spraying during the week of May 10 to kill gypsy moth caterpillars in selected areas of Allen, Miami and Wells counties.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this June 12, 2007 file photo, a gypsy moth caterpillar walks along partially eaten leaves of a tree in Trenton, N.J. The gypsy moth, discovered in 1869 in Boston, is found in 20 states as of 2016, and has reached the northern Great Lakes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The scourge of insect pests is expected to put almost two-thirds of America’s forests at risk over the next decade. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

That spraying will release particles containing a type of bacteria that's deadly to the moth's caterpillar-like larvae.

Each site will get two treatments.

The first treatment application could be delayed until the week of May 17 if cooler weather arrives.