The state is scheduled to begin spraying trees in parts of Howard County Tuesday with insecticide in order to reduce the number of gypsy moths in the area.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture monitors the population of gypsy moths around the state and orders insecticide spraying in areas where officials think the population is not being kept in check by other means. Gypsy moth caterpillars eat leaves of hardwood trees in May and June and large outbreaks in past years have defoliated hundreds of thousands of acres of trees, according to the department's Web site.

The department will spray nearly 1,100 acres in Howard County using bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring soil bacterium that has been authorized for use as a pesticide since 1961. It can cause irritation to the skin, eyes and respiratory tract if encountered by humans, but any serious adverse health effects are not likely, according to a study prepared in 2004 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Maps showing the 20 spray locations in the county can be found here.

The areas are not necessarily sprayed in numerical order. Spraying may be delayed if there is rain, high winds, fog or high or low humidity in the area at the time of the scheduled spraying.

Aerial spraying started May 6 and has been moving west through the state. Overall, the state will spray trees on 32,732 acres in 14 counties.

Individual property owners were sent notice about the spraying, according to the department's Web site.

This year's plans include the lowest number of acres the department has sprayed since 2006. Last year, more than 99,000 acres in 13 counties were treated and about 50,000 acres were sprayed in 2007, according to state figures.

For more information, call 410-841-5922.

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