The Ministry of Forests will be spraying in the Campbell River and Courtenay areas to eradicate spongy moths and minimize the risk they pose to forests, farms, orchards, and trees.

Trapping results from 2022 show evidence that spongy moth populations are becoming established in treatment areas.

The Ministry of Forests was issued a Pesticide Use Permit Amendment to spray residential, commercial, and public lands with a biological insecticide, Foray 48B, which the province says poses a very low risk to humans, which can be further reduced by staying indoors during the spray, and does not harm mammals, birds, fish, plants, reptiles, amphibians, or bees. It affects only moth and butterfly caterpillars after they have ingested it, and the spray timing targets the emergence of spongy moth caterpillars.

The ministry is planning three applications between mid-May and mid-June - starting May 19th in Campbell River and May 21st and 22nd in Courtenay - Dove Creek.

Each of the three treatments will occur seven to 10 days apart and could take up to two days to complete.  

To see the full release, visit Government of British Columbia.