While the Gypsy moths continue to eat away at local area trees, a local resident said Bartlett is one step closer to quelling the bug problem.

Ted Nyquist, a Bartlett resident, has been privately organizing sprayings of the Gypsy moths by helicopters over the past few weeks.

Nyquist said he believes the sprayings are having an effect on the number of moths.

“I only see low level holes in the leaves, and don’t see anything way up yet,” Nyquist said. “But we have to wait another month just to see how it really turns out.”

Nyquist said he will continue to monitor the number of caterpillars that remain by putting a burlap bag around local trees.

“They come down and a number of them remain there overnight,” Nyquist said. “Looking at (that number) over succeeding years is a good way to monitor.”

With a certain numbers of Gypsy moths in the trap, he said, it indicates that spraying will be needed next year.

According to Nyquist, they sprayed about 165 acres, which he said was “way beyond” what he thought they could do.

Originally, Nyquist said his expectations were to spray about 10 acres, then 140 acres.

It cost about $100 per acre to spray for moths with the helicopter.

Nyquist said without current numbers, he’s unsure whether or not they will have to spray again next year, but he believes much like West Chicago in the past, they will be seeing helicopters again.

“We hope not, but West Chicago had to,” Nyquist said.

Peggy Drescher, village forester for Glen Ellyn, has been assisting Nyquist in combating the Gypsy moths. She said they recently sprayed in Glen Ellyn and already have seen a huge decrease.

“We are spraying this year and hoping not to have to spray next year,” Drescher said.

Drescher said she doesn’t recommend spraying the same area two years in a row, but it comes down to how much residents can stand.

“This is not going away,” Drescher said. “It’s always going to be here. In Glen Ellyn, we asked how much the neighborhood could tolerate. It’s gross.”

Nyquist said residents who had a problem cooperated and helped guide Nyquist and company on where to spray.

“If those people who had a significant problem this year don’t (next year), then we really did a good deed here for the village and residents,” Nyquist said. “We know we will have to treat in the future, (but we) can’t predict when.”