In June, in Stara Zagora, pheromone traps began to be placed against the pine processionary on the trees

“In the month of June, the next treatment against the pine processionary in Stara Zagora municipality is coming”, this is what the deputy mayor of the local administration, Radostin Tanev, told BTA. From his words, it became clear that “the installation of pheromone traps will begin and at the end of September spraying will be carried out again.”
For this purpose, we will request permission to carry out the activities with drones, added Tanev.
He recalled that in March of this year, the mechanical removal of the pine processionary nests began. Activities included cutting out the nests of the larval pests in the trees with a forklift and collecting them in a plastic bag, which was destroyed in an incinerator.
“The pine processionary has no natural enemies and the fight against it is very difficult, but all the measures taken will be a barrier to the spread of the population,” explained the deputy mayor. He commented that the stages for combating the pest through complex treatment were discussed by an expert commission of landscape architects and forest officials who inspected the condition of the tree species in the largest park in the Stara Zagora municipality “Metropolitan Metodiy Kusev” (Ayazmoto ).
The active intervention of the municipality of Stara Zagora and the territorial division of “State Forestry – Stara Zagora” in the autumn of failed to destroy the pest. Spraying was carried out by the municipality on over 400 decares of territory, of which “Metropolitan Metodiy Kusev” park, the forest massifs above “Tri chuchura – sever” quarter and “Dabrava” quarter, as well as another 214 decares of municipal and 3800 decares of state , processed by forestry.
The population was partially limited because the activities took place in an urbanized environment and the fight was biological. The use of chemical insecticides is also inadmissible, because biological diversity will be disturbed.