Wondering what those strange boxes attached to trees around Tiger Mountain are all about? The answer is the Gypsy Moth.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) annual gypsy moth summer trapping program is underway once again. By the end of July more than 22,000 small cardboard traps will be placed around the state, checked every two to three weeks during the summer, and taken down in September.

The Gypsy Moth is considered to be an enemy of the environment, attacking more than 500 species of trees and plants. In its caterpillar form the pest quickly strips trees and plants of leaves, destroying some and weakening others so they are susceptible to plant diseases.

The caterpillar also destroys wildlife habitat, degrades water quality and triggers costly quarantines of timber, agriculture, and nursery products.

“We’ve kept this pest out of the state for 36 years,” said trapping coordinator Tracy Shirek. “We want that record to continue.”

Traps will be placed in all 39 counties. Four thousand traps will be placed in King County, the highest of any county in the state.

Tiger Mountain, near the intersection of Tiger Mountain Road and SE 160th St., is one of the areas in county being intensively trapped because of past gypsy moth activity. Other local areas include east of Sahalee, near the intersection of 259th Way NE and NE 39th Way, and in Renton near the intersection of SW 27th St. and East Valley Highway.

The number of gypsy moths caught annually in Washington varies widely. The largest number caught was 1,315 in 1983, and the smallest number in the last 30 years was 17 in 2002. Last year 18 moths were caught.

For more information on Washington’s gypsy moth control program, call the gypsy moth hotline at 800-443-6684, or visit the agency’s web site at www.agr.wa.gov/PlantsInsects/InsectPests