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Gypsy moths expected to surge this year, 700K acres of deforestation possible

MILTON, Mass. — From the Blue Hills to the Upton State Forest, the gypsy moth invasion has begun.

This week, uncountable numbers of gypsy moth caterpillars are emerging from their egg sacs with one objective.

“They work their way up the trunk and when the leaves are out a little more they'll start feeding on the foliage,” Ken Gooch, forest health program director for DCR, said.

Feeding is an understatement.

Last year, Massachusetts suffered through the worst gypsy moth outbreak in more than 30 years with caterpillars eating their way through more than 350,000 acres of forest.

As for this year, Gooch has similar expectations.

“We're thinking this year's going to be as bad if not worse than last year,” he said.

Based on egg sac surveys in the fall, Gooch said the deforestation could go as high as 700,000 acres.

That is unwelcome news to homeowners such as Ann Gary, who had several of her trees stripped bare last year.

“Over the course of about two or three weeks, every leaf was eaten through so that you could look up at the tree and there would be no leaves on the true,” she said.

Gary is taking steps to save her trees by wrapping them with a barrier meant to trap the caterpillars on the way up.

But with a new wave of invaders on the way, she's worried.

“Oh I'm absolutely sure that if it happens again we will lose these big trees this year or next. Yeah, absolutely sure,” she said.

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