PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2022
Portland’s parks department will be treating Deering Oaks for browntail moths this spring. The park will be closed to all guests during treatment and for four hours following each application. Treatment is scheduled for the week of May 16-20, when the city’s Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department will be applying an organic insecticide to infested trees through ground spraying and misting into the tree canopy. “It is imperative to treat the trees now because of the public health risks associated with browntail moths’ poisonous hairs, and because the moths can harm and even kill the trees over a couple of seasons,” the city said. “The organic insecticide treatment aligns with leaf-out, which is necessary to minimize defoliation and prevent the caterpillars from molting and releasing their hairs into the air.”