On March 2, 2022, the Entomological Society of America officially changed the common name of
Lymantria dispar dispar to spongy moth.
The spongy moth is a destructive, exotic forest pest that was accidentally introduced into the United
States in 1869. It is currently established throughout the Northeast and parts of the upper Midwest.
The Office of Plant Industry Services manages the spongy moth program across the Commonwealth. Program
areas include: Suppression, Slow the Spread, Quarantine and Regulatory.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services cooperates with the U.S. Forest Service
and localities to suppress spongy moth populations and protect contiguously forested areas with priority
to residential, forested and high-use public recreational areas. This program is locally based with
infested localities determining their own level of participation. Requirements for participation can be
found in the Virginia Spongy Moth Suppression Program
Guidelines. Federal cost-share money may be available for participating localities.
Virginia participates in the Spongy Moth Slow
the Spread Foundation, which establishes a formal framework for cooperation among states and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to slow the spread of the spongy moth.
The Office of Plant Industry Services conducts annual surveys at the edge of the generally infested
area in an effort to find low spongy moth populations. The goal of the Slow the Spread program is early
detection so that these small spongy moth infestations can be suppressed, which slows the progress of
the generally infested area.
The goal of the Virginia Spongy Moth Quarantine is to prevent the artificial movement of the
spongy moth from areas which are infested (quarantine area) to those areas which are not infested. The Office of
Plant Industry Services conducts spongy moth surveys each year to determine when population levels
warrant adding new localities to the quarantine.
The spongy moth regulatory program provides assistance to businesses which may be impacted by
requirements of the Virginia Spongy Moth Quarantine. Businesses moving regulated articles must ensure that these articles are free of the spongy moth.
The Office of Plant Industry Services can conduct inspections or enter into compliance agreements with
impacted businesses to allow for self-inspections and certification of regulated articles. To obtain information about compliance agreements, please
contact 804.786.3515.
If you are planning to move a recreational vehicle, shed, outdoor furniture, equipment or toys from an
area infested with the spongy moth to an area that is not infested, visit Your Move Spongy
Moth Free to see how you can conduct an inspection and ensure compliance with state and federal
spongy moth quarantines.
In order to meet the requirements for public scoping held by the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) will be presenting
information at county Board of Directors meetings regarding proposed Spongy Moth treatments in their
locality.
On February 25th, 2026, VDACS hosted an online presentation about the proposed treatments. The
recording of this presentation will be posted below, in addition to supporting documents such as
proposed treatment maps and product information.
Contact
For questions or more information about the Virginia Spongy Moth Slow the Spread Project, please contact:
Benjamin Templeton
Spongy Moth Slow the Spread
540-394-2507
slowthespread@vdacs.virginia.gov
Spongy Moth Suppression and Regulatory
Please email complianceagreements@vdacs.virginia.gov
804-786-3515
Visit the Office of Plant Industry
Services directory.