Light brown apple moth found at SC garden center

One of the largest outdoor retail garden centers in the county won't be selling plants for a few days, the result of a federal quarantine ushered in by the presence of the light brown apple moth.

The USDA on Tuesday notified Lumbermens Garden Center on River Street that the caterpillar detected on one of its plants on Dec. 5 was that of the light brown apple moth, leading to a ban on the sale of plants at least until Friday.

Ray Schmidt, the manager of the garden center, said he plans to spray the center today with an organic pesticide known as BT, which has been used by many nurseries where the moth has been found.

"We're talking about one caterpillar that was a quarter-inch long. I hate the burden that's falling on the nurseries because of this thing," said Schmidt. "But it's understandable. Nurseries are the potential spread. What's frustrating, though, is that the same sort of caterpillar could be right outside my door on some other plant in somebody's backyard and there's no way of stopping it."

That's where aerial spraying of a synthetic pheromone comes into play. Manufactured to mimic the scent of a female moth and throw the males off track, the state Department of Food and Agriculture plans to spray CheckMate LBAM-F over parts of the county in February, continuing its efforts that began in November.

Whether the state's attempts work, said Schmidt, remain to be seen, but he hopes so, because this is the third time this year that he's had to quarantine his plants, the other two times coming in May and September.

As for BT, Schmidt said the spray is expected to kill the larvae in four to seven days.

In the meantime, Schmidt says he'll still continue to sell soil, fertilizer, pots, seeds, all the stuff that comes with the course of running a garden center.