Town to give tips on preventing pesky LDD moths at upcoming farmers market

Residents can learn how to scrap off egg masses this fall to prevent pesky LDD caterpillars from causing more problems next year

Newmarkettoday.ca
Oct. 15, 2021
Elizabeth Keith

Town staff will be on hand at the Newmarket Farmers Market in the next two weeks to answer questions and give advice to residents on dealing with Lymantria dispar dispar (LDD).

People from the forestry department will be at Riverwalk Commons from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 16 and again on Oct. 23 to talk about the pesky caterpillars that were a problem for many Newmarket residents.

In the caterpillar stage, which typically lasts from May to July, the bugs were found all across town eating all the leaves on trees.

The forestry department said at the time that a particularly hard hit area in Newmarket was west of Yonge Street where there tends to be more woods.

While the population of the pests was not conducive to widespread spraying to help control them, back in July the town gave free burlap to residents to help trap and contain the caterpillars on their properties.

However, after a summer of burlap, Newmarket is now at the egg mass stage of the LDD lifecycle, according to the town’s website.

To help reduce the impact of the caterpillars next season, this fall, town staff will be using backpack vacuums to scrap the egg masses from trees that are more vulnerable. These trees have been marked with a white dot.

Residents are encouraged to scrap the egg masses from their own properties too. Staff will show people the best way to do it at the farmers market on these upcoming Saturdays.

At 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on both days, town staff will provide a demonstration on LDD egg mass removal and provided best practices for residents to try at home.

For those unable to make it out to the market, the town has also posted removal instructions on their website.