Tuesday May 6

Pheromone twist ties applied to combat moth

Bay City News

The California Department of Food and Agriculture applied pheromone-laced twist ties to a 27-square-mile area of northwest Santa Clara County Monday as part of the state's efforts to combat the light brown apple moth.

The pheromone on the twist tie is designed to disrupt the moth's mating cycle by confusing male moths and making them unable to locate females. The pheromone is specifically targeted to the light brown apple moth and is not harmful to other organisms, according to the department.

Twist ties were applied in Cupertino, San Jose and Sunnyvale.

In Cupertino, the ties were applied in an area around De Anza College and south of Interstate Highway 280 in the area of Stelling Road and Greenleaf Drive.

In San Jose the ties were applied in an area east of Lawrence Expressway and north of Interstate Highway 280 and in the area just south and west of Samuel Rogers Middle School.

In Sunnyvale the ties were applied to an area bordered by Fremont Avenue, Pauline Drive, Carlisle Way and Dunnock Way. They were also applied to an area around the intersection of El Camino Real and South Sunnyvale Avenue.