Gypsy Moth Survey and Spraying
AWPOA Community,
Good morning!
Herb and Anne have been running the program and working with WVDA.
This item was not on the agenda for the Owner’s Meeting to be voted on and did not make it through the board meetings due to other items that were being addressed.
I’m posting this to reach as many owners as possible to review the information and raise any objections for this program.
“We have several options of which chemical is sprayed. It’s my recollection we used the less expensive one (Mimic). This will require owners and pets in the affected area to stay inside/away on the day of the spraying until noon to allow for spraying and then drying. The affected area would be sprayed in mid-May. We will need to identify a landing area for the helicopter to land and load the chemicals – we have time.
When WVDA asked about a price per acre they received a more realistic(?) estimate of $42 per acre for the Mimic option. The other two chemical options cost $49 and $55 per acre (they are organic and more people/pet friendly). The area in need of spraying is 829 acres – making it just shy of $35,000 if we go with the Mimic.
In addition, there is a possibility the Forest Service will be able to help with cost sharing and contribute 50% – if the funding is available. At this point WVDA has NOT heard that it’s not available, so they are optimistic.”
Please respond to this notice if there are objections and we’ll work with Herb and WVDA.
Regards,
Jason T. Williams
AWPOA President
14 Responses
Can you tell us what lots are affected and that will be sprayed? If It is my lot, I personally would like the organic options that are more people/pet friendly.
We don’t have any objection and highly prefer the more organic option if possible. We have seen a lot of evidence of this moth in our lot (334) and they are extremely destructive.
Agree. Please provide a map that shows which lots will be affected by the spraying.
Greetings, My only real concern is how the product degrades. I have a cistern water supply at my site and am sure anything sprayed will end up running off the roof and end up in the tank. Does the product degrade to a non-toxic for human state over a certain time, or will I need to somehow close off my system for the day of spraying and do a water washdown of roof and gutters.
Not trying to be a pain….
V/R
Mike Tancredi, lot 336
Will all of AW be sprayed? I have noticed numerous egg masses on my property and it should be treated.
Steve Dargusch
Lot 282
Because of the known and unknown risk to human health, pets, wildlife, and the environment, we strongly oppose the use of the “Mimic” option.
Luis & Brenda Parada
Lot 136
If possible, please list the lot numbers that will be sprayed. I personally would prefer the organic spray.
We have dogs, and would strongly prefer the organic spray.
Lot 344
I don’t think there’s enough information to make an informed decision. We raise organic chickens and turkeys and grow organic fruits and vegetables on our property and are very careful to understand the ingredients on everything that we use for pest control. While it’s easy to say that we are strongly opposed to using Mimic, the other chemicals were not named. Not all organic pesticides are non-toxic to animals and bees. We would oppose spraying anything that could hurt bees, given their importance in pollination. And, we would be highly concerned about any chemical that has a long residual effect, as that generally can cause problems in the ground water. Other information that seems to be missing is the height at which the spraying occurs and expected drift, the particular lots involved including expected drift, and the potential outcomes of choosing not to spray this year and continuing to monitor the number of egg masses for potential future action. Lastly, but importantly, what is the Board’s liability if environmental damage or animal loss occurs, since the spraying is not solely on Ashton Woods property? We would request that the Board try to provide more information before making any decisions.
Paul and Cindy Graham
There are many questions that need to be answered. 1) How many lots are involved? 829 acres / 20 acres per lot = 41 lots at most which is 41 lots / 362 lots = 11% of Asthon Woods lots. 2) Who is paying for the spraying? Those lot owners affected or Asthon Woods Property Owners Association? 3) So, who benefits from the spraying. Seems like the affected owners of the lots benefit most and maybe adjacent lot owners. 4) Gypsy moths affect Hardwood trees and not pines. What about pine bark beetles. 5) What is the majority of trees on your lot, hardwood or pine? Finally, not meaning to be negative, this is a problem for the individual lot owners. Example: Adjacent number of lot’s driveways are eroding away. Who’s responsible? The lot owners or Ashton Woods Property Owners Association? No brainer, the lot owners. (It’s their property) The owners of the affected lots should come together as a group and take care of the problem.
I will take a double dose of the best stuff you have. Moths suck
Thank you Jason for providing this information and working towards a solution of spraying for the moths. Has AWPOA researched another infestation problem occurring in our community (statewide for that matter), Emerald Ash Borer beetles? I’m sure many owners have observed trees suddenly dying and the bark being stripped off with channel like markings on the trunks. Females lay eggs in the bark and the larvae feed under the bark to grow into adults, the result is stripping the tree of it’s nutrient bark structure and killing the tree. I’ve been advised the only mitigation is aerial spraying. Though I understand the impact of the Gypsy Moths, this impact seems to be at par if not worse based on the damage and destruction I’ve been hearing and observing in AW. Any chance we can begin the discussion of this infestation problem and possible mitigation strategies?
Thank you. -Matt Dunlay
Lot 35
Hi Jason,
Thanks for this information. I too would like information shared with the community on the affected lots (mostly for my own awareness of whether my lot is in that group). I also would like to echo some of the previous questions regarding any planned actions of AWPOA for the Ash Borer Beetle issues, of which I am definitely losing trees to on my lot.
Regarding the type of pesticides, I too vote for the organic option(s) and whichever has the least amount of short and long-term impacts to the surrounding ecosystem outside of the intended targets.
As far as considerations go for whether the AWPOA should cover this cost, or it be up to the individual lot owners, I would vote for it to come out of POA funds (same as any potential ash borer beetle remediation). For the sake of this discussion thread, the two main reasons being:
1) While the bulk of these invasive species may be concentrated in a percentage of the AW lots, these infestations can rapidly expand to larger areas in just a couple of seasons and become highly destructive. These infestations represent a community-level threat, much like a forest fire. We all recognize the need to invest in dry hydrants, and would be happy to help pay to extinguish the flames on a neighbors lot, even though ours may be fine at the moment. If my lot isn’t already affected by the moths, I recognize that it very well could be in another season or two without corrective action and I could lose more trees. Spraying serves as both a treatment option as well as a prevention measure.
2) If they are applying the pesticide via helicopter, it’s likely extremely difficult (if not impossible) to spray only some lots in the affected area, and not others when deploying the spray on a long pass. Any lot owners in the affected area that opt not to pay for the service, and arguably all other lots in the surrounding area, would benefit from the service while making a select group of lot owners bear the financial burden. In situations that affect large portions of our community where there’s no realistic way to apportion the costs equitably, the burden should be shared by the community as a whole.
Thanks for all the hard work you and the other Board members put into keeping our community running!
Best,
Ed Gorecki
Lot 236
AWPOA Community,
Good evening and thank you for all of the responses!
We do not need to take action in 2023, but will have another survey completed before our annual Owner’s Meeting. By then we should have the latest information and we’re looking to have personnel at the meeting to address questions, etc.
At this time, effected areas are primarily in the WMA and taken care of by the state.
We’ll continue to gather information, determine affected lots, and make sure that we can provide everything by October.
Warm regards,
Jason T. Williams
AWPOA President