Efficacy of Mating Disruption Treatments Against Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar) Applied Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly used in precision pest management, yet their performance in operational forest settings remains underexplored. We evaluated the efficacy of SPLAT® SM-O mating disruptant applied using a UAV at a dosage of 14.8 for control of the spongy moth, Lymantria dispar dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae). One treatment plot received 11.4 g AI/ha because of a calibration deviation during application. Both treatments reduced trap catches by >90% for 10 weeks following the application, meeting the efficacy requirement set by the USDA’s National Slow the Spread (STS) Program. One year after the application, trap catches continued to be reduced by 28% and 67% in plots treated with 14.8 and 11.4 g AI/ha, respectively. These levels of trap catch reduction in the year of treatment and one year after the treatment application are comparable to those reported following fixed-wing aerial treatments. These results indicate that UAV-applied SPLAT® SM-O meets STS requirements for operational use and is suitable for integration into the program for treating small or isolated blocks. These findings also have broader implications for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to deploy SPLAT® formulations in forest pest management programs.