Retesting of the moth DNA will clinch whether the government proceeds with the second spraying campaign. Public hearings will be held in the areas before spraying. Critics of the spraying program, including Allen Spalt, director of the Agricultural Resources Center in Carrboro, N.C., a group that has criticized the state's handling of insecticides say it will be almost impossible to eradicate the moths. I don't know if you can really measure whether it's worth it or not worth it. But it's a very large effort for a few bugs.
Gypsy moths destroy millions of trees annually in other areas of the country.
Officials sprayed 130,000 acres in Brunswick and New Hanover counties this spring. Traps were set to detect surviving moths. None of the eight moths came from the sprayed area. But new strains of the moth can fly up to 18 miles, escaping natural predators. Some of the money paid for flying officials to a military base in Germany where the moths originated.