COLUMBUS – Mysterious planes will be swooping low in the skies over central Ohio this week as the Ohio Department of Agriculture begins aerial treatments designed to disrupt gypsy moth mating.
The planes will spray the product known as Disrupt II on 25,699 acres in Franklin, Delaware, Crawford, and Marion counties this week.
Airplanes will fly 100 to 200 feet above the tree tops to apply the treatment over one- or two-day periods this week.
Disrupt II does not kill the moth but disrupts the mating process by confusing the male as it searches for a female mate.
Disrupt II is not harmful to birds, plants, pets or humans, department officials say.
The spraying is part of the department’s program of monitoring, detecting, and reducing isolated populations to slow the gypsy moth’s movement across the state through treatments.
The gypsy moth is an invasive species that feeds on the leaves of more than 300 different trees and shrubs. State experts say a healthy tree can usually withstand only two years of defoliation before it is permanently damaged or dies.
The department says 51 Ohio counties have established gypsy moth populations.