Spongy moth is a serious forest pest endemic to the northeastern states

The University of Kentucky Research Foundation received a $110,500 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025), awarded on July 1, 2025. The agreement supports a spongy moth detection survey across Kentucky to prevent establishment of this serious forest pest, which poses a significant threat given that Kentucky is nearly surrounded by infested areas in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and eastern Tennessee. The project addresses the elevated risk of pest spread due to Kentucky's popular recreational areas and population migration from the northeastern United States.

Under this cooperative agreement, the Research Foundation will deploy independent contractors and University of Kentucky temporary technician employees to conduct detection surveys in wooded areas statewide according to national protocol. The project scope includes setting and removing between 2,894 and 3,086 traps (depending on grid configuration) at a surveyor compensation rate of $28-$30 per trap. Supervisor personnel from the University of Kentucky will provide training and oversight. The survey will commence with surveyor training in spring 2025 and conclude by September 2025, with results documenting spongy moth presence or absence across surveyed areas and submission of findings to an APHIS-approved database for midyear and final accomplishment reporting.

Activities

The cooperator will hire independent contractors as well as university of kentucky temporary technician employees to perform a detection survey in wooded areas across kentucky according to national protocol. Personnel from the university of kentucky will train and supervise the surveyors. Independent contractors will set and remove between 2,894 traps (if set on a 4K grid) and 3,086 traps (if set on a 3K grid). Surveyors will be paid $30 per trap (if set on a 4K grid) or $28 per trap (if set on a 3K grid). Half will be paid for setting the trap and half for removing the trap. Kentucky also participates in the slow the spread program and, in 2024, will also set traps as part of that survey. Deliverables and expected outcomes: the project will begin with training of surveyors in spring 2025 and will be completed by september 2025. Surveyors will set spongy moth traps across as much of the state as funding allows and will remove the traps at the end of the season. At the end of the survey, we will demonstrate presence/absence of spongy moth in the areas surveyed. Data will be uploaded to an aphis approved database and results summarized in midyear and final accomplishment reports. The field operations spongy moth annual data report will be completed and submitted to the sphd office by the last full week of november 2025. Intended beneficiary(IES): kentucky commercial timber and nursey stock producers. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: N/a