A younger Lymantria caterpillar, with distinct colouring and hair all over it's body. (B.C. Government)

By Jordan Davidson

invasive species

Mid Island moth spraying concludes, early morning flyovers leads to complaints

Jun 24, 2022 | 1:32 PM

NANAIMO — The Ministry of Forests wrapped up their aerial-spray treatment for an invasive moth species last week, which had some mid-Island residents concerned about the noise and how it’ll affect their health.

The caterpillars of the Lymantria moth can cause extensive damage to treed areas as they feed on their leaves, and spraying before they spread is vital, the province stated.

Provincial forest entomologist Tim Ebata said the pesticide used only affects the caterpillars, which is why they are able to do aerial-spray treatments over urban areas.

“People don’t like being sprayed by unknown products. We provided as much information as we could on their website and through our information line about what the contents of the spray was, and the fact that it doesn’t harm any other organisms besides caterpillars. It’s impact on humans is considered minor or in general safe by Health Canada.”

Ebata went on to say the spray also has no negative impact on any other vegetation, wildlife or insect including bees, who are already struggling due to factors like climate change and the cool, wet spring.

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While they initially announced their intention to spray in February, they still received complaints from residents annoyed they were woken up in the early mornings by low-flying planes.

He said morning is the ideal time to spray due to usually calm conditions, while their permit does not allow them to spray beyond 8:30 a.m.

“Nanaimo has been spared the aerial treatment for quite a while. The other treatments have been ground sprays because they were much smaller. Atmospheric conditions are critical with an aerial spray because you want to prevent drift and make sure the treatment is effective.”

There have been multiple aerial and ground treatment sprays on the Island since the early 90’s, with the most recent aerial spray near Nanaimo occurring in 1994 over central Nanaimo.

Pesticide treatment can come in the form of ground or aerial spraying, depending on the size of the infected area. (Government of B.C.)

The spraying covered 1,068 hectares of land south of Nanoose Bay to the edge of Nanaimo’s northern border.

“The unfortunate part about the Nanoose to North Nanaimo treatment was it was a very large block and took at least three mornings to complete. The treatment alarmed a lot of people.”

Ebata said they posted the information on their website detailing spray times, posted signage in the affected communities and along the Island Highway, and told local schools, daycares, and medical centres.

“People get their information from various sources, some don’t use conventional media. So we have to use all platforms to attempt to get the message out, but despite our efforts, we still get many individuals who are unaware they are doing the program until the actual aircraft is flying overhead. This has been a chronic problem with this program.”

The number of treatments depends on the effectiveness, and if the critters continue to get reintroduced to the Island by catching a ride on out-of-province vehicles.

“I call this entomological “Whac-A-Mole” because these insects are introduced accidentally from Eastern Canada by people moving infested material either with their household goods or their RV’s into B.C. and other Western provinces. The eggs hatch in the spring, and the insects try to gain a foothold in our environment.”

These invasive pests mostly affect the lower and coastal areas of B.C., and are very common in southern Ontario, where Ebata believes a lot of these local outbreaks might originate from.

They’ll go into the treated areas this summer with traps to see how many of the male Lymantria moths they can find to determine if further treatments is required.

Other areas of the Island which has or will see similar treatments include 402 hectares at the easternmost tip of Cowichan Lake and part of the Town of Lake Cowichan, and 50 hectares south of Thetis Lake Regional Park in View Royal.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow