Skip Maine state header navigation Browntail Moth Trap
Experiment Conducted In Infested Areas AUGUSTA, Maine (June 22,
2001) Two bureaus within the Department of Conservation - the
Maine Forest Service and the Bureau of Parks and Lands - are
combining resources to combat the insect pest, the browntail
moth. The area of infestation begins around Yarmouth and
subsides in Harpswell. Browntail moth caterpillars pose a health
risk to residents who may develop a rash, or respiratory
problems from inhaling the insects’ hairs. An experiment is
being conducted this season to see if traps that cover male
moths with female pheromone will add a non-pesticide tool in the
arsenal of weapons used against this pest. The Maine Forest
Service is working with Dr. Philip Howse and Dr. Karen Underwood
of Southampton University, England, to set the male hormone
disruption traps that lure male moths with a powder containing
the female hormone. When the male moths exit the traps, they
cannot find females because they are covered wit