Lack of federal funding forces Minnesota to cancel an invasive moth spraying program

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture said a lack of federal funding is forcing it to cancel plans to spray for invasive moths in a dozen areas of Minnesota. Without the spring spraying, state officials say spongy moths will spread more easily.

Spongy moths are an invasive defoliating pest that threatens the health of forests. The Department of Agriculture said there is only a short springtime window to spray them, but because it has not received federal funds for spongy moth aerial insecticide spraying, it cannot do the work this spring.

“This has been a long-standing management program holding back sponge moth from moving into Minnesota,” said Mark Abrahamson, the department’s plant protection division director. Abrahamson said the state has been working with the federal government for decades to control the invasive moths.

The aerial spraying had been planned in Anoka, Carlton, Itasca, St. Loui, and Winona counties, including the cities of Coon Rapids, Grand Rapids and Winona. 

Abrahamson said the insecticide targets dense populations of moths. He said stopping the spraying this year will lead to more spongy moths.

“Those populations will be able to grow for a year, and then next year, if we’re able to go back and manage them, they’ll be bigger than they are this year,” Abrahamson said. “So, it’ll take a bigger treatment in order to get the same result.”

Abrahamson said he is not certain funding for the spraying will be available next year. He also said it’s unclear whether there will be federal money to survey moth populations to prepare for possible aerial spraying next spring.

The MDA said it’s planning to move forward with other ways to manage spongy moth populations.

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