It’s not “Mothra,” but it’s pretty bad. The gypsy moth is migrating west, it has established itself in Illinois and it has the capacity to lay waste to 250 species of trees and shrubs — and it’s especially harmful to oak trees.

So when you hear that Kane County is going to be part of an Illinois Department of Agriculture treatment program for gypsy moths, you tend to sit up and take notice.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture will hold four open houses to explain its plans this year to treat parts of northern Illinois for the destructive gypsy moth.

Presentations are scheduled March 31 in Aurora, April 2 in Warrenville, April 7 in Willowbrook, and April 9 in Campton Hills.

• The Aurora open house will cover plans to treat a 1,623 acre site in the Kane/Dupage County community. It will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Eola Community Center, 555 S. Eola Road, Aurora.
• The open house on April 2 in Warrenville will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Warrenville Public Library, 28W751 Stafford Place, Warrenville. It will review plans to treat a 777-acre site in DuPage County.
• The Willowbrook open house on April 7 will cover plans to treat a 941 acre site also in the Dupage County community. It will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Chinese Mandarin Church 9S565 Clarendon Hills Road, Willowbrook.
• The treatment impacting 5,112 acres in the Campton Hills/Wasco area will be the topic of the final presentation. The Campton Hills open house on April 9 will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Campton Hills Community Center at 5N082 OLD LaFox Road.

The gypsy moth is a non-native pest that feasts on more than 250 species of trees and shrubs, but its preferred food source is oak leaves. Large populations are capable of stripping plants bare, leaving them vulnerable to secondary insect and disease attacks.  Severe defoliation also can cause tree death.

Infested sites will be treated with applications of either BtK (Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki), a naturally-occurring bacteria used by gardeners as an environmentally-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides, or mating disruption (MD), a gypsy moth-specific pheromone that acts asa sexual attractant and prevents male gypsy moths from breeding.

Airplanes will apply the pheromone flakes in late June. The BtK will be applied by helicopter in mid-May, with a second application being done within the following two weeks.

It’s important to note, BtK has an excellent safety record with people and animals. People who live or work near the application site may want to stay indoors for 30 minutes to allow time for material to settle out of the air. Anyone with any questions regarding either treatment method is encouraged to attend an open house where any and all questions will be answered.

Maps of the treatment sites are posted on the department’s website at www.agr.state.il.us/gypsy-moth.

Lake County was quarantined in 2000, and the counties of McHenry, Cook and DuPage were added in 2007. A quarantine requires all nursery stock and firewood being shipped out of the affected counties to be inspected and certified, a difficult and time-consuming procedure. All nurseries and nursery dealers are also required to treat their property and/or stock, and persons leaving quarantined counties have to have all of their outdoor equipment inspected.

• IF YOU SEE A GYPSY MOTH IN ANY STAGE OF LIFE CALL TOLL FREE: 1-866-296-MOTH (6684)

More information can also be obtained by contacting: Illinois Department of Agriculture, Northern IL Field Office, 2280 Bethany Road, Suite B, DeKalb, IL 60115.