Painted Apple Moth Eradication Begins Again
Painted Apple Moth Eradication Programme Starts Today
The aerial operation to wipe out the painted apple moth in the extended eradication programme will start at first light today (Monday, 2 December 2002).
Three aircraft are being used in the aerial spray operation - a Fokker Friendship, a small, fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter. The aircraft will not fly between 8am-9am; 12:15pm- 1pm and 3pm-4pm to avoid children walking to and from school and having lunch.
The spray to be used is called Foray 48B. Its active ingredient is a naturally-occurring soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki or Btk for short. This product has been widely used throughout the world for over 30 years as a highly effective means of killing caterpillar pests. Some Btk products are approved organic pest control agents.