The Destructive Bug Customers Should Watch out For

The signs of Spring are all around!

Unfortunately, that includes another round of Gypsy Moths.

Gypsy Moths are wildly invasive and destructive little buggers, having defoliated more than 75 million acres of forest in the northeastern US since 1970. In an effort to reduce if not stop the further spread of their destruction, the US Department of Agriculture has introduced an ever-expanding quarantine area from where gypsy moths must not be transported.

Gypsy Moths hatch in the spring, and before the summer is out the females are laying eggs of their own. Yup, making new baby Gypsies right during the moving season, which further increases the likelihood of their spread. In response, the USDA is enforcing the legal responsibility – of both customers and moving companies – to check for gypsy moths before moving from an infested to a non-infested area.

Lucky for all of us the USDA has also provided us with a brochure outlining what it takes to properly and effectively check for the presence of gypsy moths. They even include a checklist which, when completed, serves as an official certificate that satisfies requirements of non-infested states.

So for all you guys in those colored counties on that USDA quarantine map, be sure your customers moving out of the area are aware of your shared responsibility of keeping these hungry critters from moving to new parts of the country.