City of Barrie looking into battling gypsy moth caterpillar invasion
Thousands of gypsy moth caterpillars are on a feeding frenzy in Barrie, and now city councillors are looking into options to deal with the infestation.
"This is something, particularly the northeast end of Barrie, we are seeing heavy impact around the amount of caterpillars and the damage that's being done and the nuisance it's causing," said Ward 3 councillor Ann-Marie Kungl.
At Monday's virtual city council meeting, councillors gave initial approval for the city to look into things like aerial spraying or pheromone traps to help prevent future gypsy moth invasion.
Councillors added an amendment was added to include some residential neighbourhoods in addition to wooded lots.
"We want to see if there is a reasonable approach to make sure that's considered and not left out of any treatment plans," Kungl said.
The motion will go to council next week for final approval.
In the meantime, experts say it's difficult to predict if the outbreak will carry over to the next year.
"We are certainly still hoping that with the endemic proportions we are seeing, we may still see a fair bit of mortality from the virus that will at some point kick in and control this population," said Graeme Davis, Simcoe County Forester.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.