Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1907-07-03
Gypsy MOTH CRUSADE.
Large Number OF Nests being Found
in the State.

Large Number OF Nests being Found
In the State.
The fight against the gipsy moth goes
merrily on down near the southern part OF
the State, where York county comes down
to point along the New Hampshire line,
and the State and government forces OF
scouts are busily engaged in hunting out
and destroying the nests OF the moths
which have found their way from Massa-
chusetts into New Hampshire and from
there over into Msine. That the forces are
doing good work is shown by the number
OF nests which they have found and des-
troyed.
1t is no childs play, this hunting out
nests OF the worst insect pest which has ever
visited the State, but is good hard work
and plenty of it. Compared with it the
work OF hunting out the nests OF the
brown-tail moth is nothing. There
may be hundreds OF the latter in locality,
but they are easily found when the foii-
age has gone from the trees, and are easily
taken and destroyed, but with the nests
of the gypsy moth it is different.
he tcuhit VI thts tutAh SahbVe hs "s.~
therefore cannot choose the airy locations
in which to deposit her eggs as can her
smaller and more active sister pest, and
being unable to fly she must content her
self with depositing her eggs in such
places as are accessible to her. And 1t is
this inability to fly that renders the gipey
moth more to be dreaded than the brown
| Ia lc- natl
tiles unconsidered, for its nests are much
more difficult to find and therefore the
danger OF infestatiou is increased many
fold.
Aside from such nests 80 are deposited
on trees the gypsy moth seems to possess
the instinct for placing them in such spots
as would render them safe from discovery
from any ordinary search that might be
made for them. From the experiences Of
the searching parties which are now
| working in the State II is evident that
favorite place for the moth to deposit her
| eggs is in the stone walls which are COM
| mon throughout the rural districts OF
Maine, and in some instances whole
colonies OF nests have been found in one
wall
Particularly is this true in the case OF
stone wall on the premises OF ID. l.. Dom
nell in the village OF York, where q total
OF fifty-seven nests was found, and which
is the largest number Of nests which have
been found in q single spot since the men
| started out on the hunt early in the year.
| This wall runs along in front Of Mr.. Dom
| nell's residence, and in looking over the
premises the men found two nests on q
tree that set in the wall. Former ex-
periences with stone walls prompted them
to make q further search and about 100
feet OF the wall was taken down, with the
result that hfty-four more nests were
found in the wall, eleven OF them being
| on the under side OF one big stone. An
other nest was found on the bottom Of an
old milk can which had been discarded
| and thrown into the wall.
This is only one instance OF the work
which the men have to do in their efforts
to prevent the pest from gaining foot
hold in the State. In other localities they
have had to take up walks and platforms,
take up the fioorings Of sheds and other
outbuiidings, take tin roofing of of build
ings, and in one case they had to shovel
seven tons Of coal out OF a bin to get at
the fioorings and then shovel the coal
back again, but in each and every instance
their efforts have been rewarded by the
finding OF at least one nest, and often
times several in each place where the
hunt was conducted. The nests are
destroyed by covering them with a solu-
ton of creosote, which kills the eggs.
The revolving fly-wheel gathers no flies.