If you live in Westerville, Worthington, Northwest Columbus, or the OSU area, your trees may be under attack by gypsy moths.
Currently, they are large fuzzy caterpillars, but will turn into moths by July.
Their resurgence comes after a dry year in 2012 killed off fungus that keeps the population in check.
As caterpillars, they chomp through 300 kinds of hardwood trees, and can destroy a forest in three years.
In response, the state Agriculture Department loaded up small planes on Monday and began an aerial assault on them, just before the moths emerge.
They plan to release showers of tiny green plastic flakes designed to disrupt the critters' mating cycle.
“We've been using this product now for over 15 years and over 2 million acres have been treated with it and we've had no side effects from its use. It is a solid material. It is not a mist or a liquid so it is not going to be a spray coming down,” explains David Adkins, Ohio Department Of Agriculture Inspection Manager.
The department sets traps and uses a formula to find where the worst problem may occur.
