EVERETT, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video aired at an earlier date.
Washington state officials have scheduled an aerial drop of insecticide to stop an invasive moth and to prevent forest foliage damage.
The Daily Herald reported that the state Department of Agriculture announced about 2 square miles in Woodway and an Everett neighborhood will be sprayed with more than 655 gallons of soil bacteria.
Department spokesperson Karla Salp says the treatment is scheduled for Friday, May 15, depending on weather conditions.
Experts say the Hokkaido gypsy moths native to Asia arrived in Snohomish County forests last year.
Gypsy moths feed on more than 500 types of plants and trees and are known to wipe out massive agricultural areas around the country.
The department currently traps Asian and European gypsy moths each year to keep them from defoliating forests, officials said.
Gypsy moths first arrived in the state in 1974 and it has implemented multiple preventive measures since.
Washington has sprayed for gypsy moths most years since 1979.