MDA Preparing to Treat More than 12,000 Acres for Gypsy Moth Invasive Pest Threatens Forest and Shade Trees
Weather permitting, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) will begin aerial spraying next Thursday (May 2) in some southern areas of the state to combat the destructive Gypsy Moth, an invasive pest that destroys forest and shade trees. However, most of MDA’s gypsy moth spraying will take place later in the month in Western Maryland.
On Thursday, MDA is scheduled to spray a small portion of St. Mary’s County along MD Route 235 and Bay Forest Road. MDA will also spray a small portion of Worcester County on Rt. 12 (Snow Hill Road) at the Wicomico County line. Most spraying will be done later in May in Garrett County where MDA will spray more than 11,000 acres over 58 individual areas across the county. All property owners directly affected by the spraying have been notified by letter.
Maps of areas to be sprayed as well as the spray schedule are on MDA’s website at: http://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/gypsy_moth_spray_schedule.aspx
When MDA begins spraying, residents can follow MDA’s Gypsy Moth Twitter feed for frequent updates on the progress of the helicopters. Follow @MDGypsyMoth.
Every year, MDA monitors the presence and severity of gypsy moth infestations and assesses potential damage and tree loss. Predators, parasites, and diseases often kill gypsy moths; however, when the natural enemies fail to suppress high infestations, MDA will work with federal and local governments to conduct aerial insecticide treatments to protect and preserve forest and shade trees. In FY 2012, MDA surveyed more than 467,000 acres and treated 2,530 acres – all of it in Garrett County. The last major outbreak was in 2007-2008 when more than 68,000 trees lost most of their leaves and MDA treated more than 99,000 acres.
For more information about the Forest Pest Management Program, see: http://mda.maryland.gov/Documents/ag_brief/AgBrief_FPM_FINAL.pdf
See a recent blog post about the Gypsy Moth Program: http://news.maryland.gov/mda/mda-blog/2013/04/15/april-is-national-invasive-plant-pest-disease-awareness-month-learn-about-marylands-most-unwanted-pests-2/
For more comprehensive info on gypsy moth, see: http://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/gypsy_moth_program.aspx
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Jay Ferguson
Who I Am
My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service!
Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well.
I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’.
Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I
have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you.
Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about!
Honesty. Integrity. Results.
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