The major source of Gypsy Moth disbursement in the United States is through motor vehicles. A vehicle and plant materials from Gypsy Moth infested areas should be checked thoroughly for any signs of the insects including egg, larva, pupae and adults. Visual inspection may involve examinations of a vehicle's underside, joints or hitches. Both sides of wheels should be checked. Control is difficult and controversial.
Chemical control is effective but requires community support and action.
Community-wide spraying usually runs into opposition and is costly. Egg masses should be removed and placed in cans of rubbing alcohol, bleach or kerosene to prevent hatching. Just scraping eggs off the trees and onto the ground does not reduce the population significantly. Most chemicals painted on egg masses have little effect on the masses and can damage the cambium layer of the tree. Banding trunks with substances such as Tangle-Foot seem to have little control on infested trees.