Gypsy moth infestation deterring some visitors at Toronto parks
From backyards to popular parks, the gypsy moth is wreaking havoc across Ontario.
“I have changed my running routes in the park,” said Rebecca Pinkus, a frequent High Park visitor in Toronto.
“There have been some paths where after it rains the caterpillars fall and get squished and there’s caterpillar excrement.”
David Dutkiewicz, an entomology technician at the Invasive Species Centre in Sault St. Marie, said last year was the worst gypsy moth infestation Ontario has ever seen.
“This year, we’re waiting for the data to come in,” he said.
There are some remedies to help you get rid of the insect, but it depends what part of the life cycle it’s in, Dutkiewicz said.
Between August and April, the gypsy moth is in the egg stage.
Dutkiewicz recommends looking for the egg masses on trees and scraping them off with something such as a butter knife.
Next comes the caterpillar stage, arguably the worst.
“If you just stop and listen to the trees you can hear them chewing. I mean it’s just terrifying,” said Dan Riskin, CTV News’ Science and Technology Specialist.
“One of my kids was also quite terrified of the whole thing,” he said after a family visit to the Kortright Centre for Conservation in Vaughan.
A caterpillar of the Gypsy moth is seen on a leaf in Tiny Township, Ont., on Fri., July 10, 2020. (Roger Klein/CTV News)
You can pick up a bio-pesticide spray called BTK at a local garden centre or hardware store, Dutkiewicz recommended.
“The caterpillars have to actually ingest the bio-pesticide basically in May in order for it to have any effect in June or whenever,” he said.
Using the spray now would almost be a waste of money, Dutkiewicz said, because there aren’t as many leaves for the insect to eat.
Wrapping a burlap band at chest-level around the tree will attract caterpillars looking for shade.
“Right now in June is the perfect time to use the burlap trap methods.”
Dutkiewicz suggests checking the burlap at lease once or twice a day, pick off the caterpillars then toss them into soapy water.
Some Ontarians have even resorted to using a vacuum or broom, which can work too.
For Pinkus, who views High Park and the allotment garden as a sanctuary, a change in the insect’s life cycle can’t come soon enough.
“The raspberry plants and my rhubarb plants have both been decimated.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Is there a cost to convenience? Canada approves new cancer immunotherapy treatment
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Canada's new dental program offering hope of free care to millions but many dentists aren't signed up
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
King Charles III will return to public duties on Tuesday when he visits a cancer treatment charity, beginning his carefully managed comeback after the monarch’s own cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months.
NDP says Ottawa's new grocery task force isn't living up to government promises
The federal government says the task force it created to monitor and investigate grocery retailers' practices has not conducted any probes and doesn't have a mandate to take enforcement action.
Archeologists search for remnants of Halifax's 250-year-old wall that surrounded the city
Archeologist Jonathan Fowler is using ground-penetrating radar to search for historic evidence of the massive wall that surrounded Halifax more than 250 years ago.
Kazakhstan arrests ex-interior minister in connection with unrest that left 238 dead
Authorities in Kazakhstan arrested a former interior minister on Tuesday, in connection with deadly police crackdown on unrest that gripped the country in 2022, Kazakh news media reported.
A group of Toronto tenants have been on a rent strike for a year and say there's no resolution in sight
Dozens of tenants in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park area have now been withholding their rent for one year, and it’s unclear when the dispute will end.