USDA ENDS GYPSY MOTH RESTRICTIONS FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA

USDA ENDS GYPSY MOTH RESTRICTIONS FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has removed British Columbia from its list of gypsy moth infested areas.
   The agency’s action lifts restrictions on the importation of trees and shrubs, logs and pulpwood, outdoor household articles, and mobile homes.
   “Surveys have indicated that those areas that had been considered infested have been free of gypsy moth for the past two years, allowing the importation of regulated articles from British Columbia, Canada,” APHIS said.
   U.S. imports of live trees, plants and rough wood from British Columbia exceeds $200 million a year.
   The gypsy moth is a destructive pest to forests and shade trees. The caterpillar can feed on more than 500 different species of trees and shrubs. “The pests can defoliate millions of acres in a season,” APHIS said.