A local landscape pest management and tree care company will treat 24 Kwanzan cherry trees along Cherry Lane on the Capitol Campus tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 8, to control cherry bark tortrix – an invasive insect pest.

The work involves targeting pesticide spraying and will be done between 6 and 8 a.m. but is weather dependent. Treatment won't be done if it rains or there is enough wind to cause the pesticide to drift from treated areas.

Cherry bark tortrix is a non-native moth species whose caterpillars damage the bark and inner layers of a tree, according to Washington State University researchers. The pest can kill or weaken trees, leaving them susceptible to disease and other insect problems. The moth was first discovered in Washington in 1991 and attacks most types of fruit trees.

The pesticide to be used is almost non-toxic to humans, causes nearly no allergic side effects and is not a skin or eye irritant, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Wolbert's, an Olympia-based company, will use backpack sprayers to apply the pesticide only to the base and about five feet up the trunk of each tree. The spraying will help reduce the infestation on campus but not eradicate it, something difficult to do. Spray areas will be flagged with treatment signs, in accordance with state law.

The spray treatment is consistent with integrated pest management practices which call for chemicals to be used only as a last resort. There is no effective alternative for controlling cherry bark tortrix except chemical pesticides. If untreated, the trees may die.

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