Unalaska, AK – Neon green, pyramid-shaped boxes are hanging from trees and bushes around the community to monitor for invasive moths, including the highly destructive gypsy moth. Gypsy moths first invaded the east coast of the United States in 1869. They eat and kill over 500 types of trees and shrubs. UAF cooperative extension office integrated pest management technician Sherry Lee Bottoms says her organization is working with federal agencies to stop the moth from invading Alaska.

"We just want to try to beat the moths to the trees."

The population of gypsy moths recently exploded in Japan. The concern is that the moths will lay eggs on ships traveling from Japan, Russia, or other parts of Asia and bring the Asian variant of the pest to Unalaska and the rest of the state.

"The Asian gypsy moth female flies," unlike the European version, Bottoms explains. "And that's mainly what we're worried about. Because when she gets here she can really start moving quick and start moving the invasive moth much more rapidly."

The sixteen small cardboard box traps are not harmful to humans or pets but attract the moths.

"Well, basically we put in pheromones that attract the males. It's a female pheromone, which is a type of a sex hormone, to try to get the males to come to the box. Then there's sticky stuff inside the trap so when they fly in there to try to see if there's a female they get stuck to the trap."

Bottoms requests that you leave the traps alone. She'll be back to remove them in September. The moth monitoring is part of a statewide program and also looks for Russian Silk Moths and Nun moths. The only invasive gypsy moths found in Alaska were in Fairbanks. The eggs were carried to the state on camper vans and hatched.

You can read more about the moths here.