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[6/12/05] If you don't read the Watertown Daily Times or watch Channel 7- WWNY, you don't know about the caterpillar devastation plaguing the North Country. We at Sylvia Lake, can be proud that we had the foresight and property owner support to avoid the kind of infestation that other areas of the North County are experiencing. Kudos to all of us!!
The Caterpillar Diaries...
[5/9/05] People around the lake are beginning to see signs of caterpillar activity but leaves are minimal. Jeff Duflo is aware of activity to our north and to our south. Spraying seems inevitable. Please contribute. Read the letter that was sent to all property owners.
[5/10/05] We have raised $1,600.00 in 10 days. It will cost $6,000.00 to spray our 400 acres. The current balance in the fund is $4,200.00. Please contribute if you have not already done so. If you have contributed, thank you. Would you like to send more??
[5/16/05] The notification signs are up around the lake. Jeff Duflo will be out of the area the first part of this week. He has to wait till the leaves are bigger and it's warmer. Lea Dickson (next year's Association president) and I (as reporter) went to New Bremenn last Friday. Lea took a cutting from a maple with a clot of small caterpillars on it. (a little over 1/4 inch in size)
[5/24/05] Jeff Duflo has been up since 3 this morning studying the weather patterns. He may spray as soon as tomorrow - the material needs about 5 hours to dry on the leaves and then would withstand light showers for a few days. The legal notice was in the Watertown Times yesterday and today.
[5/26/05] Received a call at 7:30 this morning...Jeff was in the air and on his way. Pretty soon, we heard the plane. This was IT...or so we thought. The phone rang again. It was Jeff Duflo's daughter who said, "Dad called from the air. The winds at tree top level are at 14 mph. He won't spray in those conditions." And the plane flew off.
Stay tuned...
[5/27/05]- SPRAYING Got the call this morning at 6:30... Jeff showed up about 5 minutes later. (Gotta love cell phones.) Picture taking was dicey, but I did get a couple of shots which I may post later. But it looked exactly like last year. Right down to the exact date, one year later. (see below)
Jeff made many passes, and this year, we could smell the BT solution and even see it on the cars. I hope the application, along with the natural cycle of the caterpillars will eliminate the threat so our forest can regain its health.
[5/29/05] Many folks were at the lake this Memorial Weekend. And I'm sure they saw the dead caterpillars on the ground. No pictures are necessary. The wind and weather was cooperative and we thank Jeff Duflo for his services and for giving us a discount. If you haven't done so, please send in your contribution. Last I knew, we had not reached our goal. We did a good thing for our trees to spray.
We learned that in addition to his being a pilot and certified applier of agricultural products, he is an entomologist...a bug guy. He said the caterpillars were too small to spray, but as soon as it warms up, they would be munching and he would be here to spray. Probably this week, depending on weather.
The morning of the spray, 2004.
April 28, 2005
Dear Sylvia Lake Property Owners,
Once again we are calling upon you to help preserve our beautiful lake. We are addressing simultaneous ecological threats from invasive caterpillars, beavers as well as aquatic and land plants.
The Sylvia Lake Association Board of Directors met on Wednesday, April 20, 2005, to discuss the health of the lake, forest and watershed areas. The Association has been actively pursing remedies to lessen the impact of infestation and invasion. Our aggressive course of action last year included aerial spraying, increased water testing, beaver relocation, and milfoil hand harvesting. We are learning that effective and safe pest management solutions are costly and difficult to prioritize.
We were hopeful that aerial spraying last year would eliminate the caterpillar threat. But this year, the Association Board has been alerted to renewed signs of caterpillar activity. Consequently, the Board voted to approve sending this letter asking for financial support for a follow up aerial treatment this spring. The Duflo Aerial Spray Company has been contacted for scheduling and pricing options. We have been quoted $6,000.00 for the application. This includes a discount and assured priority treatment.
If we are to continue our aggressive fight against the caterpillars, milfoil, beavers and other invasive pests, we must replenish our pest fund. A complete financial report will be provided at the Spring Association Meeting: June 17, 2005, Fowler Town Hall, 7:00 PM.We are hopeful that each property owner can contribute $50.00. (More would be fantastic.) Property owners will be able to make their contribution with a credit card, through PayPal, a secure online payment service. This will soon be available through Sylvia Lake Online on the web at <http://www.sylvialake.org> Watch for it!
Or mail contributions to:
Pest Management Fund
C/O Mona Allen, Treasurer
130 Jones Road
Gouverneur, NY 13642Return to the top of the page
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