Missouri Agriculture Department officials hope the gypsy moth problem in this state is getting under control. State entomologist Mike Brown says the moths are destructive pests that in the caterpillar stage can kill oak trees. He says they are most common in the Eastern United States, and even as close as Tennessee and Kentucky have infestattions of them. Brown says people should be on the lookout for the egg masses laid by the females and unwittingly carried into this state. Education efforts could be paying off. Brown says his Department found only about half of the gypsy moths in this year’s survey as compared to last year, and none in St. Louis, an area that hasn’t been free of the pests for 26 years.
