The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s fifth targeted aerial spray operation against painted apple moth in parts of west Auckland has been scheduled for Tuesday 30 April 2002 – weather permitting.
The target zone has been extended slightly for the upcoming operation and now includes low-lying land alongside the north-western motorway from the Lincoln Road ramp to the Point Chevalier/Waterview ramp where caterpillar infestations have been found recently.

The changes from previous operations include:
- A small area below the Waterview motorway on ramp
- A small pocket of vegetation motorway-end of Henderson Creek
- A coastal strip on the south-eastern side of the Avondale Peninsula
- A small area on the south-western corner of Waikumete Cemetery

The remainder of the targeted aerial spray zone covers the Avondale Peninsula and parts of the Waitakere suburbs of Te Atatu, Glendene and Kelston and the Waikumete Cemetery.

MAF’s aerial spraying programme has had a significant impact on the painted apple moth. The weekly number of male moths caught is down from a peak of nearly 900 in the weeks before aerial spraying, dropping to 300, then 200 a week. Just 143 moths were caught last week.

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