COAL TOWNSHIP - The invasion of the gypsy moth worms is over - for now. The vast majority of the creepy crawlers moved on to the pupa stage and have emerged as moths.
The moth, or adult stage, only lasts about a week. In that time frame, female moths, which do not fly, will lay eggs that could emerge next spring as another wave of caterpillars that this spring devoured leaves and left most trees and shrubs bare.
Most trees are recovering from the invasion by growing a new set of leaves. According to studies, trees can withstand two to three years of defoliation.
Such is the case of the oak trees on Jake Berkheiser's property at 1658 Trevorton Road.
His property across from Annabelle's Restaurant felt the brunt of the attack. The worms nearly destroyed the trees that are at least 75 years old. Adding to the mess was the worms' fecal matter which stained the exterior of his house and left behind a nasty stench.
"It was a nightmare," Berkheiser said Thursday. "The trees are doing great now. There are a lot of moths, but the worms are all gone. Thank God they're all gone."
Once the worms transformed, Berkheiser spread lime to get rid of the smell, shampooed his porch carpet and powerwashed the house and tool shed.
Berkheiser said all of his trees have new leaves on them. A few of his neighbor's spruce trees, however, may not be as lucky. The trees have barely any needles on them and show few signs of life.
One tree - the couple's least favorite - suffered no damage at all.
"The only tree they did not touch was this catalpa tree. My wife hates that tree and wouldn't have cared if they would have eaten it," he said. "I guess the gypsy moths didn't like it either."
Kill egg masses
Egg masses have started to appear on rocks, manmade objects and other places near the ground since the caterpillars emerged as moths. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) recommends people destroy any egg masses with a 50-50 mix of soybean oil and water.
They caution that eggs should be destroyed rather than scraped off a tree since eggs on the ground are still viable and can actually benefit from the insulating effect of snow cover.