No Spraying Today
The second operation of targeted aerial spraying against the painted apple moth in some west Auckland suburbs, Traherne Island and the Avondale Peninsula has been postponed until tomorrow morning – because of the weather.
Drizzle patches and showers are expected this morning and the weather for tomorrow at this stage is also uncertain. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will make a decision whether to go ahead tomorrow at 4am and advise its call centre on 0800 96 96 96.
The painted apple moth, a native of Australia, was
found in Glendene two years ago and MAF has been tackling
the pest with ground spraying and the removal of host
plants. The targeted aerial spraying will boost that
programme and is aimed at hard-to-reach areas such as steep
terrain, gullies and tall trees.
Some properties will be
ground and aerial sprayed because they are in an infested
area or because of mixed terrain.
The aerial spraying target zone includes about 3,000 west Auckland residential and industrial properties along the Whau River and its tributaries and the Avondale Peninsula. The Waikumete Cemetery and Traherne Island, which runs alongside the northwestern motorway, is also in the target zone.
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