Browntail Moth Info
The infestation of browntail moth continues throughout parts of Maine. Fortunately, in the past few years, Falmouth has seen a reduction in nests and levels of infestation. In 2020, the Town of Falmouth conducted a spraying program to target areas in the public right-of-way that were deemed to be high risk. While not fully eradicating browntail moth, the spraying program worked to preserve the health of the street trees and to minimize the public health effects of this infestation.
Annual assessments continue to provide data on the severity of the infestation in our community. From 2021-2023, assessments of browntail moth nests along all public ways in Falmouth found that no areas in Falmouth met the moderate criteria of risk and found no nests at all along the majority of the community's public roadways. Based on these assessments, the Town did not conduct spraying programs in 2021, 2022, or 2023.
The Town contracted with Davey Tree Experts for this year’s assessment which also concluded that NO areas along public right-of-way meet the ‘moderate’ criteria with much of the community having no nests at all. Based on this assessment the recommendation would be not to proceed with a Browntail Moth Control Program again for this year.
What can you do?
Residents are advised to assess their own properties for nests during the winter months. The best means of preventing a browntail moth infestation on your property is to clip and destroy overwintering webs between October and mid-April. It is also best practice to treat trees before leaves have filled in, generally by the end of May or the first week in June. Residents with trees on their property that they want treated will need to hire a qualified contractor to do so. A list of licensed pesticide applicators willing to treat browntail moth is available here: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/documents/pesticide_applicators_bm_hwa_others.pdf
Learn more
For more information on browntail moth, visit our project page at: https://www.falmouthme.org/home/pages/browntail-moth-0, call (207) 699-5329, or email jbaxter@falmouthme.org.