MORNING SENTINEL • April 26, 2024
The cities of Waterville and Augusta are expected to dodge the brunt of browntail moth troubles this year as mitigation efforts the past few years have apparently worked to alleviate the problem. The city of Waterville has been aggressively tracking and treating trees on city property for browntail moth over the past few years by contracting with a company to clip nests from trees, insert treatment plugs or inserts into trees and spray them with an organic substance that is not harmful to humans. In Augusta, the city in recent years had workers out all winter long, clipping browntail moth nests from trees and inserting plugs into them. In the winter of 2021-22, the city put a huge effort into mitigating browntail, especially in areas where schools, parks, play areas and walking trails are located. No spray has been used on browntail.