Gypsy moths are a non-native forest pest that can be very destructive, and certainly if you live in an area that does not have them, you don't want them! Of course, firewood is one way that the moths can travel. On Friday, the Gazette Xtra of Janesville WI published a short story called "What's that crunching sound? Gypsy moths coming soon" with a very telling anecdote from a local resident.
"Bob Fisher, who owns 4 wooded acres north of Milton, has to battle the (gypsy) moths on his own... Fisher couldn't figure out quite what was wrong with his trees—or what those yellow-orange splotches were all over his woodpile.
"When Anne (Miller) came out here last fall, she was aghast," Fisher said. "I have these big wood piles—I heat my house with wood—and they were all over the wood piles."
Fisher cuts firewood in a couple of different places, and he thinks he might have brought the moth eggs to his home from another area.
That's right. This landowner infested his nice wooded area with gypsy moths by moving firewood. In this case, the firewood had gypsy moth egg cases on it- which then hatched into caterpillars, and then he had a big problem on his hands.
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