Aerial spray treatments will be done on Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island this spring to eradicate invasive spongy moths and minimize the risk they pose to forests, farms, orchards, and trees.

The Ministry of Forests will be treating:

North Saanich: 170 hectares (ha)
Greater Victoria: Gorge-Tillicum: 120 ha; 
Esquimalt and Victoria West: 31 ha; 
Belmont: 430 ha
Cowichan Bay: 126 ha
Nanaimo: 130 ha
Qualicum Beach: 96 ha
Salt Spring Island: 48 ha

Spongy moth caterpillars feed on tree leaves and have defoliated sections of forests and residential areas in Ontario and the eastern United States in recent years.

The Province says untreated spongy moths risk spreading to other areas of B.C. and are a threat to urban forests and farms.

Treatments will also take place in the Lower Mainland and southern Interior.

To learn more, visit Government of British Columbia.