Bill takes aim at moth

BRUNSWICK

As the Midcoast braces for yet another season of the browntail moth infestation, one legislator is looking to help municipalities combat the irritating caterpillars.

“We are expecting another bad year for the browntail moth caterpillars in this area, and if you walk through neighborhoods you can see how many nests there are,” said Rep. Denis Tepler, D-Topsham.

Tepler has submitted a bill, LD 1181 “An Act To Provide Funding to Municipalities Severely Infested by Browntail Moth Caterpillars,” that would provide state funding to municipalities suffering from severe infestations of the insects.

Browntail moths are an invasive species found throughout the Midcoast area. The insects have a voracious appetite and no natural predators, leading to massive defoliation which can eventually kill trees. Perhaps even more noticeable than their effect on the foliage is their effect on people.

While the moths themselves are essentially harmless to humans, in their caterpillar stage they are covered in thousands of tiny barbed hairs. The hairs are filled with toxins, and can cause irritating, poison ivy-like rashes when they come in contact with exposed skin. As hundreds of thousands of caterpillars emerge from their nests in the spring, those hairs can quickly become airborne and affect those who never came in contact with the actual insects.

Pesticides can be applied effectively to kill off the insects, but the process can be expensive and needs to be done professionally to make sure that it is specifically targeted and doesn’t adversely harm the surrounding environment.

“During the terrible browntail moth season last year, I got a number of calls from people I know who were just totally, I guess the word is ‘freaking out,’ because it was raining caterpillars on their house, literally,” said Tepler.

Some of the people who reached out to Tepler had respiratory issues that are exacerbated by the toxic hairs, but unfortunately not all of them had the means to remove the infestation from their respective properties.

“For people with respiratory illnesses, inhaling any of those caterpillar hairs … can make you quite ill,” said Tepler.

Tepler’s bill sets up the Maine Brown-tail Moth Caterpillar Management Fund, which provides $500,000 from the general fund for the 2017-18 year. Municipalities with severe browntail moth infestations can apply for up to $50,000 annually from the fund, and then distribute those funds to low-income households with affected health issues.

“Because of the need for targeted applications of pesticides, I decided probably the best thing to do was to provide some money from the state, particularly to the towns which are severely infested, and to count on the towns’ ability to distribute the money to citizens in the towns who have the respiratory illnesses and cannot afford otherwise to hire someone to ameliorate the situation,” said Tepler.

The bill also addresses the problem of browntail moth nests on public lands.

“In talking to the (Topsham) selectboard, I realized that this was a problem on some of our public lands as well,” said Tepler.

The bill would also allow municipalities to use up to 25 percent of the funds toward eliminating browntail infestations on public lands, while the remaining 75 percent must go toward low-income households with affected illnesses.

The bill was co-sponsored by all of the representatives of Sagadahoc County. A public hearing will be scheduled in the near future.

Moth fund

• THE BILL sets up the Maine Brown-tail Moth Caterpillar Management Fund, which provides $500,000 from the general fund for the 2017-18 year. Municipalities with severe browntail moth infestations can apply for up to $50,000 annually from the fund.

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