The Gypsy Moth Infestation at the Maggotx Compound...!!!!

The Maggotx Compound is getting Invaded by Alien Creatures.....NO, not from Outer Space but Alien to NJ...!!!! The Gypsy Moth History is outlined below for your edification and cultural enhancement:

The Gypsy Moth were first brought to the United States in the 1860s by a Trouvelot, an Idiotic French Asshole and scientist who wanted to breed gypsy moths with silk moths with the hopes of creating a lucrative silk market in the United States. He chose gypsy moths because, unlike silk moths which are very particular about what they eat, gypsy moths feed on leaves of over 500 types of trees and shrubs. Trouvelot believed that a cross between the two moth species would create a hardy silk-producer that would be easy to raise and inexpensive to feed. Unfortunately for Trouvelot, who was a MORON.... silk moths and gypsy moths are not even in the same insect family and cannot breed with each other. Although his dreams of creating a lucrative silk market in the United States were never fulfilled, Trouvelot did unintentionally start another multi-million dollar industry – that of gypsy moth control.

In 1869, while Trouvelot was working with gypsy moths, a small number of the insects escaped near his Bedford, Massachusetts home. Ever the Stupid MORON, Trouvelot knew enough about gypsy moths at that point to be concerned about their escape and reported the breakout to local authorities. He even wrote about the escape in scientific journals but no-one seemed concerned about a few tiny caterpillars. Trouvelot eventually returned to France ( To escape the wrath of his Massachusetts neighbors NO DOUBT) .

By 1881 there were so many caterpillars that virtually all vulnerable trees in Medford were completely stripped of their leaves. Yards and sidewalks were covered with caterpillars and frass (insect excrement), and caterpillars coated tree trunks, fences, and houses. Homeowners scrambled to find ways to control the outbreak, even burning the caterpillars off their trees with kerosene (not recommended for obvious reasons!).

Citizens’ outcry was so great that the Massachusetts Legislature appropriated $50,000 (an enormous sum at the time) to combat the pest. After consulting several prominent entomologists, a plan of attack was devised and implemented over the following 10 years. The goal was complete eradication of all gypsy moths in the United States. Egg masses were hunted and removed on a massive scale and highly toxic arsenic-based insecticides were sprayed on foliage, often to the dismay of property owners who rightly believed this cure was more dangerous than the problem.

This plan worked so well that by 1900 gypsy moths had for the most part vanished from the American landscape. The Massachusetts State Legislature decided that enough had been done and did not seek further funding for the program. The State’s Gypsy Moth Commission and Board of Agriculture, who knew better, vigorously protested this decision to no avail. Just as they predicted, gypsy moth resurfaced in Massachusetts soon after and began to spread to surrounding states. In spite of renewed efforts to control the insect (including an attempt at biological control by importing natural enemies from Europe and efforts to replace susceptible trees with less attractive ones), gypsy moth were established in the New England States by 1920. Eradication of the pest was not remotely possible by then, so control of gypsy moth became the goal. By 1922, gypsy moth had moved into New York and soon after spread to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and then to points north and west.

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Note: The sticky reversed duct tape helps to keep the Horrible Creatures from climbing up the Trees....does not work 100%...!!!

GYPSY MOTHS SUCK...!!!!!!!