Caterpillars driving some residents buggy
Mayor: Not all areas of town would have been covered under spraying
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - Residents who live on Bennetts Mills Road are not happy with a recent decision made by municipal officials not to authorize spraying to eradicate gypsy moth caterpillars.

"We are having a gypsy moth problem," said Joanne Baldwin, of Bennetts Mills Road.

In response, township officials said not all areas of Jackson would have been covered even if they had decided to spend $500,000 on a spraying program, but every taxpayer would have chipped in on the cost.

Baldwin said she chose to move to Jackson 20 years ago because of its rural appeal and natural beauty. She said much of the township still has those same benefits, but she now has a problem.

"My property is abundant in oak trees which existed long before I got here," said Baldwin. "They are part of the charm and add to the protection from the sun during the summer."

But things have changed, she said.

"What I have now is bare, dead and dying trees because Jackson decided not to spray for gypsy moths this year," she said. "I expect that I will lose between three and five trees this year due to the defoliation."

Not only are the gypsy moths destroying her trees, they are destroying her quality of life, she said.

"They are destroying the ability to live comfortably in my home," Baldwin said. "I can't even go outside to enjoy my yard, my pool and my deck. I can't eat outside and my cars need washing every day."

Baldwin said one solution would be to remove some of the trees in her backyard, which would cut down on the caterpillar droppings, the dead leaves and the caterpillars that fall on her house, deck and cars. She said the cost to have trees removed is high and said most families cannot afford to hire professionals to remove the dead trees.

"We can't afford, nor do we want to remove these trees just to cut down on the inconvenience of the gypsy moths, especially when there are other solutions being offered by the Department of Agriculture," Baldwin said. "I know this is not just a problem in my yard, but in everyone's."

Baldwin said she did not understand why Jackson officials did not apply to the Department of Agriculture for spraying.

"We are one of the towns that did not get sprayed and we have the most to lose," she said. "I understand there are grants to help with expenses, but Jackson didn't even inquire into the spraying. Now it's too late. The foliage is almost gone and I will certainly lose more trees this year."

About a half-mile down Bennetts Mills Road, Arlene Greenway is also having the same problem on her property. There are caterpillars and droppings all over, she said, calling it an infestation.

"I called the county," Greenway said. "The county told me Jackson officials have to help me. In this town where there is so much other waste and so many homes going up, they can't take care of the residents who live here."

Greenway said her family has been trapped inside for three weeks by the caterpillar siege.

"It's unsanitary," she said. "Caterpillar waste drops daily. We're covered in it."

She said she called an exterminator and was told that her family members would not be able to go outside for 24 hours if a chemical treatment was applied.

"It's been pretty much a nightmare," said Greenway. "Ocean County gave me several suggestions, to burlap and tape the trees. The [caterpillars are] on every single tree. We have to wash off the driveway every day. We have to park our cars in the street. What's worse is that this town has money, but they spend it in the wrong places."

Greenway said state representatives told her that Jackson officials opted not to spray for the gypsy moths.

"Jackson is the town with the most trees and they chose not to spray," she said. "I spoke to three different council members and Councilman (Scott) Martin advised me that it would have cost the town almost $550,000 and it would have (resulted in) a 2-cent increase in the tax rate."

Greenway said an exterminator will cost her hundreds of dollars.

"We pay a good amount of taxes and we've been residents here for 20 years," she said.

Mayor Mark Seda said the state has a program in which representatives come out and conduct a scientific study based on an egg count, where the nests are located and acreage. The state submits the information to the mayor's office and informs officials where they would spray and what the costs would be, he said.

"This year's cost was roughly $500,000 for as little as 8,000 acres of spraying," Seda said. "It's very difficult for me to substantiate an expenditure of $500,000 when only 8,000 acres out of 66,000 acres is getting sprayed."

Seda said some residents may be under the impression that if Jackson participates in the gypsy moth program the entire town would be sprayed, but that is not the case.

"The reality is that several areas of the township would get sprayed and that would be a total of 7,604 acres," he said. "When you have a total area of 66,000 acres, it's not very effective."

The mayor said that is the reason why he opted out of the program this year. He said he is looking for the state to give Jackson more money or fund the spraying completely.

"They say there is a reimbursement factor of up to 50 percent, but we don't know what that factor is going to be," the mayor said. "It's based on how many towns participate and how much funding they get from the federal government.

"This year I opted out of the program. Next year we are going to look at the same numbers and hopefully we can come up with some more money. I'm going to invite them out to look at the devastation along Hawkin Road, Route 571 and Jackson Mills Road and see what they say about it, because it's their trees as well. It's not only our trees."

Seda said it is unfortunate that many people do not understand how the spraying program works.

"They truly believe that if I did not opt out of the program, they would have been sprayed," he said. "The downside is that most people would have been taxed the (additional) 2 cents on their tax rate and would not have been sprayed, and had they known that they would have been better educated as to how the program works and have a better understanding of why I opted out of the program."

Township Council President Angelo Stallone said there are certain parts of Jackson that have experienced significant problems with the caterpillars, but said the areas officials examined were locations that would not have been on the spraying list anyway.

"Even if the township spent well over $500,000 they all would not have been sprayed," Stallone said. "I have a map of what the state proposed to spray and from what I am told they were not on that map. They will have to spray themselves. I know it is burdensome on some people and when I went out to them I [saw] they were loaded with caterpillars, but it was a decision we had to make."

In the past the chemical Seven was used to kill the caterpillars, but environmentalists wanted that chemical banned and it was outlawed, the council president said.

"Now they went to a new product which is bacterial and that can only be sprayed at certain times and if it rains it gets washed away," Stallone said. "We could spend all that money and it could be washed away."