Washington’s nonstop battle to keep parks, forests green begins with insect traps

DES MOINES, Wash. - It’s a warm Wednesday morning as Gary Simon gets out of his vehicle, and begins a trek towards a patch of trees.

Simon, with an insect trap in hand, is searching for the perfect tree.

"The goal is to get the pheromone as close to the center of the grid as possible," he explains, pointing to a GPS app on his cell phone.

Simon is a field supervisor overseeing spongy moth—formerly known as gypsy moth—trapping for Washington State Department of Agriculture. Over the next few weeks, roughly 20,000 green cardboard traps will go up across the state; the locations range from cities to forests and rural communities.

"The caterpillars are voracious," he said. "They’ll eat just about anything that is green."

The traps aim to capture full-grown moths, though a capture of a moth draws closer attention: potentially an on the ground for those voracious caterpillars.

The battle against spongy moths stretches back nearly 50 years. The WSDA program is one of their greatest success stories, but the fight doesn’t end – if they stop trapping, it means they’ve likely taken root in our state.

"It takes a lot of work," explained Karla Salp, a public engagement specialist with WSDA. "We put up 20,000 traps on an average year. It can go up to 30,000 depending on what our trapping was like the previous year."

Spongy moths can enter Washington State a variety of ways. The most common is when people move from other parts of the country where the moths have made a home. Shipments to Washington’s port cities can also carry the invasive species.

While the moths don’t look scary at first glance, their ability to wipe out large swaths of foliage is concerning to those who’ve witnessed it.

"It’s really shocking," said Salp. "I’ve had the opportunity to go to place where the spongy moth has infested permanently. I’ve been to state parks—this was in July—and it looks like winter, because the entire park is defoliated of all leaves. Not only the trees, but ceiling to floor. The shrubs, everything… no leaves."

While northern giant hornets garner the most attention after being dubbed "murder hornets" online, the state has an ongoing fight against more than 130 invasive pests and diseases. Some of the most important ongoing battles include the giant hornets, Japanese beetles, apple maggots and the spongy moth.

As Salp explained, the fallout from a spongy moth infestation could impact our state’s agricultural industry, especially Christmas tree farms and the lumber industry. However, the immediate impact would be noticeable in neighborhoods, parks and forests.

Trees often die off if they lose their leaves for an extended period of time, but evergreen trees can die off even faster—a major threat, given the amount of evergreen trees in Washington.

The effects can spread quickly like dominos. In addition to lost industry or dead trees, the loss of those trees can impact other species.

"Tree cover provides a lot of shade and cooling for our streams," said Salp. "So, it could impact salmon if they don’t have that cover, and then those streams are too hot for them to reproduce in them."

And that’s just some of the impacts that draw concerns with WSDA experts.

"We live here because it’s beautiful," said Simon. "Part of keeping it beautiful is seeing the effect the spongy moth has had in other parts of the country. We see what the State of Washington has done to prevent the spongy moth from being established."

Simon is one of the many fighting on the frontlines. This week, he’ll put up between 30 and 60 traps in various spots around the state.

Each trap has a special scent, a pheromone, which can extend roughly a half-mile and attract male spongy moths. They enter the cardboard folded boxes and get stuck to an interior which is covered in glue.

WSDA personnel check the traps every 2–3 months. A detection could draw additional trapping efforts, a search on the ground, or even planning for a specialized spray that targets caterpillars.

Two different types of spongy moths exist: one draws additional concerns, because the female moths can fly and spread more quickly, whereas the other species cannot fly. One type feeds on roughly 300 species of plants and trees, while the other is capable of eating 500 types.

Trapping is a never-ending program in Washington State, as more and more introductions happen each year.

RELATED: Invasive species pose serious threat to Washington state

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This year, you will likely see bright green cardboard traps pop up in neighborhoods, parks and forests. If you see one on your property, you can call to ask for it to be removed – a 1-800 number is listed on the box, though experts stress: the trap can keep trees and shrubs free of harmful insect pests.