The gypsy moth has recently (2021/2022) been officially renamed the spongy moth. Kentucky is nearly surrounded by regulated, infested areas in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. From 2000-2002, West Virginia experienced record defoliations in which over 1 million acres were affected.  The possibility of spongy moth spread to Kentucky is very high due to the popularity of Kentucky's recreational areas and the number of people moving into the metropolitan areas from the northeast. We have been surveying for this pest since 1983 and will continue monitoring due to the close proximity of spongy moth present in states surrounding Kentucky on all sides.  This extensive trapping program pinpoints potential problems so they may be quickly eradicated before they become infestations that require the expenditure of large amounts of time and money to eradicate.

Triangular delta traps are baited with a synthetic female sex pheromone to attract and capture male spongy moths every year.  Detection traps are set throughout the state, covering as much of the state as funding will allow, in order to detect moths.  Delimiting traps are extra traps set in an area which previously had several moth captures.  Slow the Spread is a program that gives funding to states to intensively trap along the leading edge of the zone which is generally infested with spongy moth to detect populations and allow for quick eradication. In 2022, we implemented a Citizen Science program in which citizens across the state set and monitored spongy moth traps.

The graph below shows numbers of moths captured each year during all survey activities combined.

Year	Traps Set	Moths Captured	Map with Moth Captures
2024	Detection: 3,023 STS: 765 Citizen Science: 425	Detection: 4 in 4 counties STS: 11 in 2 counties Citizen Science: 0
2023	Detection: 4,615 Delimiting: 125 STS: 539 Citizen Science: 527 USDA: 168	Detection: 49 in 24 counties Delimiting: 1 in 1 county STS: 52 in 6 counties Citizen Science: 3 in 3 counties USDA: 0
2022	Detection: 4,659 STS: 457 Citizen Science: 286 USDA: 166	Detection: 188 in 45 counties STS: 97 in 6 counties Citizen Science: 13 in 8 counties USDA: 1 in 1 county
2021	Detection: 4,849 STS: 484 STS Delimiting: 6 USDA: 152	Detection: 15 in 10 counties STS: 14 in 4 counties USDA: 0
2020	Detection: 4,659 STS: 733 USDA: 153	Detection: 2 in 2 counties STS: 3 in 1 county USDA: 1 in 1 county
2019	Detection: 4,308 Delimiting: 4 STS: 661 STS Delimiting: 18	Detection: 3 in 2 counties STS: 0
2018	Detection: 5,619 STS: 596	Detection: 2 in 2 counties STS: 1 in 1 county
2017	Detection: 7,408 STS: 602 STS Delimiting: 19	Detection: 10 in 9 counties STS: 1 in 1 county
2016	Detection: 7,216 Delimiting: 109 STS: 540 STS Delimiting: 44	Detection: 21 in 16 counties STS: 58 in 5 counties
2015	Detection: 7,328 Delimiting: 41 STS: 505 STS Delimiting: 9	Detection 84 in 27 counties STS: 86 in 5 counties US Forest Service: 1 in 1 county
2014	Detection: 7,065 Delimiting: 12 STS: 546	Detection: 2 in 2 counties STS: 1 in 1 county
2013	Total traps: 2,634	Detection: 9 in 8 counties STS: 14 in 4 counties
2012	Total traps: 2,938	8 in 4 counties
2011	Total traps: 4,602	23 in 5 counties
2010	Total traps: 4,633	42 in 9 counties
2009	Total traps: 7,101	88 in 10 counties
2008	Total traps: 5,373	181 in 22 counties
2007	Total traps: 6,630	212 in 34 counties
2006	Total traps: 7,734	130 in 20 counties
2005	Total traps: 8,830	46 in 12 counties