USDA 

-

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

United States Department of Agriculture 

S MOTH EGG MASSE

W

S

HATTO LOOK FOR 

PONGY

IT’S THE LAW: BEFORE 

MOVING, CHECK FOR THE 

SPONGY MOTH

What Does the Law Require? 

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

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

this destructive insect before you move. You 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 over 300 kinds of trees and shrubs.

How Do I Know if I Live in a Spongy Moth Quarantine

Area?

Visit www.YourMoveSpongyMothFree.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 household goods for 

spongy 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,

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 spongy

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 in case you need

it in the future.

Where Do I Go For Help? 

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

life stages.

• Learn more at www.YourMoveSpongyMothFree.com.

• Contact your State Department of Agriculture or nearest

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

office (www.aphis.usda.gov/planthealth/sphd).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

This publication supersedes Program Aid No. 

2065, “Your Next Move Gypsy Moth-Free,” 

which was published in October 2010.

Issued October 2013 

Revised April 2023

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Program Aid No. 2147
 

 

 

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According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0579-0104. The time required to complete this 

information collection is estimated to average .362 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering 

and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 

OMB APPROVED 

0579-0104 

EXP. DATE 

08/31/2026

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE 

PLANT PROTECTION AND QUARANTINE 

SPONGY MOTH CHECKLIST AND 

RECORD OF YOUR SELF-INSPECTION 

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

1. Originating Property Address 2. Date 

Spongy moth egg masses on a lawn 

mower (USDA/APHIS, Susan Lane) 

Spongy moth egg mass on a 

padlock (USDA/APHIS, Susan 

Lane) 

Spongy moth caterpillar (larva) 

(Daniel Herms, The Ohio State University, 

Bugwood.org) 

Spongy moth pupae 

(Pennsylvania Department of Conservation 

and Natural Resources, Forestry Archive, 

Bugwood.org) 

Female (top) and male adult spongy 

moths (USDA APHIS PPQ Archive, 

USDA/APHIS/PPQ, Bugwood.org) 

3. Recreational or Camping Items 

Backpacks 

Basketball Backboards 

Bicycles 

Boats 

Boat Trailers 

Campers 

Ice Chests 

Motorcycles 

Motor Homes 

Recreational Vehicles 

Snowmobiles 

Sports Equipment 

Tarps 

Tents 

Waders or Boots 

Other: _____________________ 

None 

4. Household Items

Air Conditioners 

Barrels 

Cardboard and Wooden Boxes

Clothesline Poles 

Clothespin Bags 

Empty Plant Containers 

Firewood* 

House Plants (taken outside

during the summer)

Ladders 

Outdoor Doormats 

Outdoor Thermometers 

Refrigerators 

Sheets of Plastic 

Shutters 

Storage Sheds 

Storm/screen Doors and Windows 

Tanks for Propane and Oil 

Television Antennas 

Trash Cans 

Washing Machines 

Water Hoses 

Weather Vanes 

Window Awnings 

Other: _____________________ 

None 

5. Building Materials

Bricks 

Cement Mixing Tubs 

Cinder Blocks 

Lumber 

Roofing Materials 

Sewer Pipes 

Tools and Toolboxes 

Water Pipes 

Welding Equipment 

Workbenches 

Other: _____________________ 

None 

6. Yard and Garden Items

Animal Houses (doghouses, 

rabbit hutches, etc.) 

Barbecue Grills 

Birdbaths 

Bird Feeders 

Bird Houses 

Bug lights 

Carts 

Cold Frames 

Driftwood 

Fencing 

Fertilizer Spreaders 

Flagpoles 

Garden Tillers 

Garden Tools 

Lawnmowers 

Mailboxes 

Picnic Tables 

Porch or Patio Furniture 

Signs and Posts 

Snow-blowers 

Storage Sheds 

Swimming Pools 

Tractors and Trailers 

Trees, Shrubs, and Plants 

Trellises 

Wheelbarrows 

Yard Decorations 

Other: _____________________ 

None 

7. Children’s Playthings 

Bicycles, tricycles 

Playhouses

Sandboxes 

Sleds, Toboggans 

Swing sets 

Tire Swings 

Wagons 

Other Outside Toys (like trucks or 

sand molds) 

Other: _____________________ 

None 

8. Other Items

Cars or Trucks 

Car Parts 

Car Ramps 

Farm Implements 

Stored Tires (snow tires) 

Other: _____________________ 

None 

Inspect anything that was stored outside 

By signing my name in block 9 below, I agree that I am legally signing this document and affirming that I have inspected all outdoor household articles, whether included on 

this checklist or not, for all life stages of spongy moth in accordance with the procedures on this form, as required by Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 301.45-4(a). 

9. Signature and Date 10. Phone Number 

11. Printed Name 12. Company Name (if applicable) 

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

PPQ Form 377 

APR 2023