GYPSY MOTH EGG MASSE

W

S

HATTO LOOK FOR

What Does the Law Require?

If you are moving from a gypsy moth quarantine area to a 

non-quarantine area, you must inspect your outdoor household items for the gypsy moth and remove all life stages of 

this destructive insect before you move. You and your moving 

company may face penalties if you are required to inspect 

but fail to do so. Fortunately, this inspection is easy to do, 

and you will protect your new neighborhood from a voracious 

leaf eater that can attack 300 kinds of trees and shrubs. 

How Do I Know if I Live in a Gypsy Moth 

Quarantine Area?

Visit www.YourMoveGypsyMothFree.com and click on 

the U.S. map to find out if you live in a quarantine area. 

If you do, you will need to inspect your outdoor household 

items for gypsy moth if you’re moving to a non-quarantine 

area. If you do not live in a quarantine area, this law does not 

apply to you.

I Live in a Quarantine Area and Am Moving to a 

Non-Quarantine Area. How Do I Meet This 

Legal Requirement?

1) Use the self-inspection checklist on the back of this flyer

or hire a qualified certified applicator to inspect your outdoor

household articles. If you are moving between April and

August, you should complete the inspection on moving 

day, if possible. If you cannot complete the inspection 

on moving day, you must protect the items from the 

possibility of infestation by sealing them under a tarp or 

keeping them indoors or in a closed moving truck. 

For self-inspection, follow these steps:

• Carefully inspect all surfaces and crevices of your 

outdoor household articles such as patio furniture, lawn 

equipment, toys, grills, trailers, and vehicles for gypsy 

moth egg masses.

• Remove and destroy any egg masses you find. Scrape 

them off with a putty knife, stiff brush, or similar hand 

tool. Dispose of egg masses and other life stages in a 

container of hot, soapy water, or place them in a 

plastic bag, seal it, and set it in the sun.

• Check each item off on your checklist as you go, and

complete the requested information.

If a qualified certified applicator performs the inspection, 

be sure you get a copy of the completed, signed checklist.

2) During your move, keep a copy of the completed checklist

in the vehicle moving the goods in case a U.S. Department

of Agriculture (USDA) or State official requests it at any

point during your trip. If you are not driving, provide a

copy to the driver. This completed checklist is an official

certificate that will satisfy the requirements of all 

non-infested States.

3) Once your move is completed, you may want to keep

the checklist filed with your moving materials for at least 

5 years in case you need it in the future.

Where Do I Go For Help?

• See the back of this flyer for photos of all gypsy moth 

life stages.

• Learn more at www.YourMoveGypsyMothFree.com.

• Contact your State department of agriculture or nearest

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

office (www.aphis.usda.gov/StateOffices).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

This publication supersedes Program Aid No. 2065, 

“Your Next Move Gypsy Moth-Free,” 

which was published in October 2010.

Issued October 2013

It’s the Law: Before Moving, 

Check for the Gypsy Moth

United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

Program Aid No. 2147
CHECKLIST

Important: Make sure this checklist goes with your outdoor household items when you move!

Checklist and Record of Your Self-Inspection

Date: _______________ 

Originating property address: ______________________________________________________________________

Recreational or Camping Items

❏ Backpacks ❏ Ice chests ❏ Tarps

❏ Basketball backboards ❏ Motorcycles ❏ Tents

❏ Bicycles ❏ Motor homes ❏ Waders or boots

❏ Boats ❏ Recreational vehicles ❏ Other: _________________

❏ Boat trailers ❏ Snowmobiles

❏ Campers ❏ Sports equipment

Household Items

❏ Air conditioners ❏ Ladders ❏ Tanks for propane and oil

❏ Barrels ❏ Outdoor doormats ❏ Television antennas

❏ Cardboard and wooden boxes ❏ Outdoor thermometers ❏ Trash cans

❏ Clothesline poles ❏ Refrigerators ❏ Washing machines

❏ Clothespin bags ❏ Sheets of plastic ❏ Water hoses

❏ Empty plant containers ❏ Shutters ❏ Weather vanes

❏ Firewood* ❏ Storage sheds ❏ Window awnings

❏ House plants (taken outside during the summer) ❏ Storm/screen doors and windows ❏ Other: _________________

Building Materials

❏ Bricks ❏ Roofing materials ❏ Welding equipment

❏ Cement mixing tubs ❏ Sewer pipes ❏ Workbenches

❏ Cinder blocks ❏ Tools and toolboxes ❏ Other: _________________

❏ Lumber ❏ Water pipes

Yard and Garden Items

❏ Animal houses (doghouses, rabbit hutches, etc.) ❏ Fertilizer spreaders ❏ Storage sheds

❏ Barbecue grills ❏ Flagpoles ❏ Swimming pools

❏ Birdbaths ❏ Garden tillers ❏ Tractors and trailers

❏ Bird feeders ❏ Garden tools ❏ Trees, shrubs, and plants

❏ Bird houses ❏ Lawnmowers ❏ Trellises

❏ Bug lights ❏ Mailboxes ❏ Wheelbarrows

❏ Carts ❏ Picnic tables ❏ Yard decorations

❏ Cold frames ❏ Porch or patio furniture ❏ Other: _________________

❏ Driftwood ❏ Signs and posts

❏ Fencing ❏ Snowblowers

Children’s Playthings

❏ Bicycles, tricycles ❏ Sleds, toboggans ❏ Wagons

❏ Playhouses ❏ Swing sets ❏ Other outside toys (like trucks 

❏ Sandboxes ❏ Tire swings or sand molds)

 ❏ Other: _________________

Other Items

❏ Cars or trucks ❏ Car ramps ❏ Stored tires (snow tires)

❏ Car parts ❏ Farm implements ❏ Other: _________________

Please inspect anything that was stored outside!

By signing this document you are affirming that you have inspected all outdoor household articles, whether included 

on this checklist or not, for all life stages of gypsy moth in accordance with the procedures on this sheet, as required by 

Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, part 301.45-4(a).

Signature: ___________________________ Phone number: ____________________________________________

Printed Name: ________________________ Company Name: ___________________________________________

 (if applicable)

* To avoid spreading other tree pests, move only USDA- or State-certified, treated, and labeled firewood.

Gypsy moth egg masses on a 

lawn mower 

(USDA/APHIS, Susan Lane)

Gypsy moth egg mass on 

a padlock 

(USDA/APHIS, Susan Lane)

Gypsy moth caterpillar (larva)

(Daniel Herms, The Ohio State 

University, Bugwood.org)

Gypsy moth pupae 

(Pennsylvania Department of 

Conservation and Natural Resources, 

Forestry Archive, Bugwood.org)

Female (top) and male adult 

gypsy moths

(USDA APHIS PPQ Archive, USDA 

APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org)