Very old big trees? they got that way without your help, didn't they?

I'd leave the moths alone. No those lights won't help. Bug zappers are an abomination as far as I'm concerned. Too indiscriminate, and they don't make a dent in pest populations.

Big trees can handle bugs. Unless we get an introduced one like gypsy moth but there's no gypsy moth yet on the west coast. Native trees and native bugs get along just fine.

Anyway those lacey leaves might not be connected with these particular moths. I'd enjoy the show myself.

Put up a bat box! they eat moths. I love sitting out at dusk in the summer and fall watching the bats come out. They'll zip right over my head, they're amazing.

I appreciate your comments Reg. We have bats living under the cedar shakes on our house -- they didn't move even when we reroofed. Also put a bat box up on the barn and have lots of swallow boxes. Unfortunately, the bats are only here from May until August. I think they hibernate in caves on Thetis Island in the wintertime. I think there are too many moths for the bug zapper anyway.

Hi Dotty, you must have had the gypsy moth in your area, I know we've had them up here in Nanaimo. I believe the Dept. of Agriculture has been aerial spraying BTK in different areas on the Island since 2000. Maybe you could put a trap up, get a sample of your moth and get it identified. If it's one of those bad little beasties I'm sure the Dept. of Ag. will do something about it.

Annette

Reg, I think you'll find that gypsy moths ARE present here (at least two different species) and are a concern. I have seen trap hanging from trees in various areas throughout the city of Seattle and am aware that controlled spraying of Btk has been conducted in the region.

Here is a link that might be useful: gypsy moths

I didn't even think of Gypsy Moth! I remember that there was so much controversy when they sprayed the btk but I know our trees had much less bugs after that. We had awful tent caterpillors and they virtually disappeared. I didn't know whether they had come to the end of their cycle or the spraying did it. Either way I was happy to see the end of them! I'll look into the gypsy moth traps.

Hi Gardengal, I've done gypsy moth inspections, and I study invasive species ecology. Neither the Asian nor the European gypsy moths are established here or anywhere on the West Coast, including BC. The traps are survey tools and they are hung EVERYWHERE in western WA. Next time you go for a country drive in the summer, watch for them. I've seen them on logging roads in the Pinchot National Forest. I've seen them at camp grounds on Hood Canal. I've seen them at boat launches on the Columbia River. Every few years or so somewhere in western WA has a ground spray done because more than one or two moths were trapped in a small area AND egg masses were found. They are constantly being carried in by all the shipping and people relocating but they are not established. If someone has hundreds of moths in their yard, it's not likely to be the GM. Hoofbeats mean horses not zebras, after all.

The West Coast (including BC) does not have GM in the same sense that New York does. They don't live and reproduce here. They are a constant threat of introduction and every year there's one or two or so adult males found somewhere in the state, but finding egg masses is a rare event. It's good to be vigilant but chances are no one in this area is ever going to see a GM without traveling cross continent. I've only found egg masses once myself and I was specifically looking for them in my 40hr week job beating back a known infestation.

Dotty, you can catch one in a jar and take it to a pro for identification, but note that adult GM probably aren't going to be found this time of year, they're out in the summer and there should be only egg masses this time of year. And, you'd have to have had dozens and dozens of egg masses in your yard to get hundreds of adult male moths. The female European GM does not fly. That means you'd have to have brought in something from back east (or the Russian Far East for the Asian GM) that had all those egg masses on it.

Here's a better link for info about the moth itself. There's a link to contact someone if you really think it's GM on your maple.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gypsy Moth general info for BC

The first I ever heard of the gypsy moth was when they were threatening the Garry Oaks in the Victoria area. When driving around you could see all the bands of Tanglefoot on the Oak trees down there. I've added another fact sheet about Gypsy Moth in B.C. for those who are interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: More info

Thanks for the extremely interesting info on the GM. It seems that they are around in the moth stage in August/September so these moths cannot be that (thank heavens!) We don't want these nasties on the scale that I have. I'm still going to try my bug zapper because I don't think that any beneficial bug would be out flying around on a damp, wet night in Novermber. Mind you, I don't think one bug zapper will kill all of the moths anyway...

Just one more thought, possibly Winter Moths.

A