Painted Apple Moth Eradication Programme Starts Today

The aerial operation to wipe out the painted apple moth in the extended eradication programme will start at first light today (Monday, 2 December 2002).

Three aircraft are being used in the aerial spray operation - a Fokker Friendship, a small, fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter. The aircraft will not fly between 8am-9am; 12:15pm- 1pm and 3pm-4pm to avoid children walking to and from school and having lunch.

The spray to be used is called Foray 48B. Its active ingredient is a naturally-occurring soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki or Btk for short. This product has been widely used throughout the world for over 30 years as a highly effective means of killing caterpillar pests. Some Btk products are approved organic pest control agents.