TyronePA e-cafe - Tyrone Pennsylvania Community Forum

salaman wrote:I saw thousands of GM Caterpillars on Sunday. They are about 1/4 inch long. Though many egg masses have not hatched yet. If the turbines go in the watershed it could be really interesting doing the app in the future from the air. Dicey flying to say the least! I would bet on a big price increase!

- I don't know there would be 50 or so less acres to spray...It might even out.

From what I understand, to be effective, this can't be a one time deal. So say they spray next year too. Sounds like a credit card commercial..... Price of Gypsy moth control 1/4 million $;
money spent on flood control last few years-----0
a town council with a fiscal IQ over their shoesize------priceless.

no-it-all wrote:From what I understand, to be effective, this can't be a one time deal. So say they spray next year too. Sounds like a credit card commercial..... Price of Gypsy moth control 1/4 million $;
money spent on flood control last few years-----0
a town council with a fiscal IQ over their shoesize------priceless.

- You would be correct that it will probably need reapplied in the future maybe as soon as next year.
- Just to finish what was not finished way back when,in regards to flood control...Now would cost approximately $100 million. That is like somewhere around 90% of what the state has budgeted for the whole state for flood control projects
- Of course not knowing who you are makes it easy for you to make such statements. Try on the shoes sometime.
Those are good commercials by the way.

so it costs too much to do a whole project that was engineered what???... 30 years ago? Ever think about re-examining the plan? Alot has changed since the 70's, including technologies that would be employed. The only 2 things that hasn't and won't change is the location of the downtown area and the river, and the fact that costs will continue to go up every year. I didn't say it was an easy fix, I'd just appreciate something that resembled an honest effort.

Probably belongs in another topic...But fair enough...something should be looked into. Just have to figure out a place to start. This all was well before I can remember. But it is certainly something worthy to discuss. I will see if there is another topic in regards to Flood Control running here and lets see where we can take this. :thumb:

Maybe, just maybe, they will all get blown off the mountain when the wind mills get installed?? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, this town cracks me up!

exbellwoodian wrote:Maybe, just maybe, they will all get blown off the mountain when the wind mills get installed?? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, this town cracks me up!

You may have something there exbellwoodian!! Seriously, Gypsy Moths are a problem and they must be controlled, otherwise, they will seriously damage our forest canopy and many trees could become extinct around here. Depending on the health of a tree, 2 or 3 years of defoliation by these buggers could kill it !! We used to have beautiful oak trees, horsechestnut trees, maple trees, elm trees, etc... around here everywhere. Now, they are few and far between. I don't think we have much of a choice here !! If we don't spray these things, it will get worse, they will multiply, and overtime we WILL have a mess to deal with !!! I don't think there should be any question as to should we or shouldn't we !!! Gypsy Moths, defoliation, dead trees, and wind mills..... can you picture that ??? Is this going to be another one of those what we can use the money for if we allow the wind mills ???
Btk will probably be used, it's used everywhere and there shouldn't be a question as to it's safety. No, I wouldn't drink a glass full of it, but, I would if it were diluted out... Btk is everywhere. It is a naturally occurring bacterium... the catapillers stop feeding and starve to death.
In order to spray properly, these airplanes have to fly very low over the canopy... who knows, if they put windmills up there, it may never be sprayed again. If they keep procrastinating, should we or shouldn't we, it will be too late. This should be done in late spring, early summer !!

P.S. Traps and duct tap also do a good job at catching these buggers in your back yard, but, you can't take care of a whole mountain side by doing this. I'm not sure what effects Btk would have on birds and the other insects though. I guess priorities are in store... do we want a beautiful mountain side, or, do we want a completely defoliated and dead mountainside with wind mills on top ???

Ah-Oh, watch out, she's thinkin' this morning !!!
Know what we could do ??? We could go out there and gather up productive Gypsy Moths...
Whatever productive Gypsy Moths look like......
bring them back here.... AND....and....
and open up the 'ole "Big Yank" factory once more, and.... and.....
produce and manufacture silk products.... for the world.
We would be saving the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees.... just think how many jobs can be created in this area alone... from the picking of caterpillars to the truck waiting at the back door to deliver the final product....
O.K. justa' thought... I know, go ahead tell me, get a life.
Ya all have a wonderful day now, ya hear !!!!

get a life *haha*

My2Cents - You have put out some great Gypsy Moth information...Thanks

Good one my2cents! In all serious though, from everything I've read I think the benefits of spraying Bt to control gypsy moths far outweigh any potential risks. tf

The agent Bt also has an adverse effect on moth predators,ie. beattles,bees,"friendly flies"(you know those big hairy looking flies that some call horse flies),etc. they naturally help keep the moths somewhat in check. Remember,Bt is environmentally friendly so is less effective than "real pesticides" so spraying could cause the opposite of the desired results. Ask some folks in southern H-don county and around Williamsburg where they wasted money on that crap.....from what I heard it acted more like miracle grow for the darn gypsy moths than a pesticide.Just something to think about...not that it matters, it was passed quickly in a special meeting a couple weeks ago anyway,that 120,000 is already about to blow in the wind above Tyrone anyway.

If they sprayed and it rained then, yes, It may have been washed away or diluted. The one's spraying are pro's, they know when, where, and how though. Once the spraying has been applied, it only lasts a few days (on the canopy) then it's gone. So, they have to spray when the spraying time is right. Perhaps it was so infested in some areas it didn't get them all.... maybe one area didn't keep up with annual spraying. That's why I truly believe, #1, the state should be handleing this. It should be an annual statewide event and not be left up to individual areas to decide, "should we or shouldn't we." These buggers need to be brought under control, spraying needs to be done annually and everywhere.
Btk is the best thing going now, it is ONLY good when applied at the right time. I just read recently, it doesn't have any effect on the birds or the wildlife.

This article is in today's Centre Daily Times. Click on the link below so you can read the comments. This is what we could be facing:

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/577276.html

Your turn: Gyspy moths driving you nuts?

Gypsy moths, anyone?

They're out and they're driving you nuts already, aren't they?

A reader sent us this note just minutes ago:

"Holy mothballs are they terrible! Some friends and I tried to play some basketball yesterday at Greenbriar-Saybrook Park in Ferguson Township and it was nearly impossible because of the Gypsy Moth infestation.

"There were literally thousands of them covering the basketball goal -- front and back and dangling and blowing in the wind all through the key. The benches were useless. And trying to get a drink from our water bottles between games required us to kill the dozens of critters that covered our bottles."

Have you battled them yet?