With reference to the history of the gypsy moth in America, in the book Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences, author Edward Tenner notes that spraying with pesticides is a threat to biodiversity, but has not been effective in eradicating the gypsy moth. At present the US is going through "alternating periods of crisis and calm" with the moth, with a renewed crisis every few years.
針對舞毒蛾在美國的「激情上演」，《科技反撲》一書指出，噴灑農藥只有威脅到生物多樣性，卻無法消滅舞毒蛾，舞毒蛾如今「危機與平靜歲月交互上演」，隔幾年就危害一次。