Imsil-gun Launches Emergency Control to Prevent Tree Damage from American White-Moth

Photo by Imsil-gun

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Nosik] Imsil-gun, Jeonbuk, recently launched an emergency control campaign against the American white moth, which is rapidly spreading on cherry trees and Ippap trees due to the recent hot and humid weather.

On the 26th, the county announced that it began emergency control measures focusing on areas with concentrated occurrences of American white moth larvae, such as the roadside trees along Osucheon Stream in Osu-myeon and cherry and Ippap trees in Uigyeon Tourist Site.

Additionally, to prevent the spread to nearby areas such as Jisa-myeon and Samgye-myeon, preemptive control activities are being carried out focusing on roadside trees and parks, which are green spaces in residential areas.

The American white moth occurs twice a year in May and June, and again in July and August in Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, and other regions. The larvae that emerge during these periods feed on leaves until early October and then overwinter as pupae.

Moreover, exposure to humans raises concerns about skin diseases and keratitis, and it causes significant damage to trees and shrubs in flower beds.

Since young larvae on most deciduous trees such as cherry and Ippap trees spin webs to form barriers and consume leaves, affected trees are left with only leaf veins, which damages their appearance.

Accordingly, the county is making thorough efforts in pest control by combining ground pesticide spraying and tree injections.

The county plans to conduct pesticide spraying centered around Osucheon Stream and Uigyeon Tourist Site until the 28th, and from the 31st to the 11th of next month, pesticide spraying will be carried out for two weeks in Osu-myeon, Uigyeon Tourist Site, Jisa-myeon, and Samgye-myeon. Additionally, from the 1st to the 4th of next month, 150 cherry trees in Osu-myeon will receive trunk injections.

County Governor Shim Min said, “The American white moth has a strong appetite and causes significant damage to many areas including flower beds and trees in the jurisdiction. We will do our best to minimize damage so that there is no inconvenience in daily life due to pests and diseases around residential trees.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.