Hamilton City Council is expected to approve $3-million to hire Zimmer Air Services Inc. To provide aerial spraying to control LDD moth outbreaks in 2022 and 2023.
The City hopes to prevent damage to the City’s tree canopy similar to last year’s significant outbreak caused by the nuisance moths previously referred to as gypsy moths.
City forestry staff write airborne treatments are needed to prevent the “significant and repeated defoliation of the many tree species [that] will likely result in mortality.”
City forestry staff state egg mass surveys conducted in the fall of 2021 found nearly 50% of the tree plots surveyed contained a concentration of LLD moth eggs exceeding 2500 per hectare.
The $3-million will be funded from reserve funds instead of being added to the 2022 and 2023 operating budgets.
Aerial spraying will be conducted in six plots across the City using a helicopter. The map is below:
Spraying is expected to occur between May 15 and June 15, prior to 7:30 am on any given day, dependent upon weather conditions.
The City of Hamilton says it will provide public notifications prior to spraying.
Thank you for spraying to end caterpillar infestation…I lived in North Bay for several years and the yearly caterpillar infestation was gross..you could hear them at night chewing the leaves on the trees and falling on people and cars ..
….the city would not spray and I am sure it deterred campers and vacationers..
Dont stop spraying..thank you again
I cannot open the map to see where Plot 2 falls. We are located on 8th Concession East, Carlisle area.
We have had heavy infestation last couple of years and many people have lost trees. Is Plot two in this area?
Thank You!
What are the health risks associated with these sprays?
I would like to know as well.
Hi I live in Carlisle, it is not clear from your map that we are covered. Please reply and assure me that our area will be sprayed,
Good morning,
The staff report map can be seen on the City website here:
https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=302978
I would also like to know the health risks to humans as well as animals. I have two small dogs.
We live on Upper Ottawa St which is not covered in this map but we have a giant oak tree in the front yard (a city tree!) that was heavily infested with the LDD moth in 2021. We had two arborists coming over none of which still had moth pheromone traps available but only gave us a quote for spraying in 2022 that is far beyond what we can afford (some thousands of dollars twice). The egg masses are so high up that we cannot reach them to scrape them and it seems like there is again nowhere any moth traps available. How can I get the city of Hamilton pay attention to this area? Why are the covered plots so small? What can I do if I cannot afford to pay privately for the costs of an arborist coming to spray. We were our first summer there and don’t know how long this tree is already suffering from that pest moth. It would be a shame if the tree did not make it.