Flit Drone Services

03/22/2025

Nice comprehensive article. Addresses questions I get asked all the time.

A non-native invasive moth has been lurking in the Northeast for more than 120 years and has recently become a pest again – of trees and… This content is available in the magazine only. Please Subscribe

03/21/2025

Here is a recent update, but I think some of the data that this is based on is not current. I live in Dedham, (mentioned in the post) and while there were many nests apparent in the fall (especially Rt1a, south side, east of Lucerne Fire), almost all of them are gone now. This suggests that the natural pathogenic fungus killed the nests/caterpillars and they came down with winter storms. More concretely, I have clipped several dozen nests, that did persist near my home, and did not find a single one with live caterpillars.
If you’re unsure of what is going on at your property I am happy to come take a look.

Browntail moths are down, but not out - Remove winter webs before April Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 03/21/2025 08:59 AM EDT View as a webpage / Share Maine Forest Service Browntail moths are down, but not out - Remove winter webs before April Brow...

03/17/2025

It’s official. Signed at 8:10am. It was even on TV. Mine really turned blue. Don't forget that tomorrow starts the new Facebook rule (aka... new name, META) where they can use your photos. Don't forget the deadline is today!!!
Hold your finger anywhere in this message and “copy” will appear. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, create a new post and place your finger anywhere in the empty field. “Paste” will appear and click Paste.
This will bypass the system….
He who does nothing consents

According to the show 60 Minutes:
Just in case you missed it: a lawyer advised us to post this. The violation of privacy can be punished by law NOTE: Facebook Meta is now a public entity. Every member must post a note like this. If you do not publish a statement at least once, it will be technically understood that you are allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in your profile status updates.
I HEREBY DECLARE THAT I DO NOT GIVE MY PERMISSION FOR FACEBOOK OR META TO USE ANY OF MY PERSONAL DATA.

12/23/2024

Most recent update from Maine DACF. Bottom line is that although there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of Browntail moth nests statewide, there may be nests that remain. Take a close look at your treetops, even a few nests can be stressful to the tree and be enough to re-infest your property.

Browntail Moth Update #14: December 20, 2024 Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 12/20/2024 03:25 PM EST View as a webpage / Share Maine Forest Service Browntail Moth Update #14: December 20, 2024 Browntail caterpillars will remain in their winter webs fo...

11/01/2024

Flit Drone Services preparing to go offshore with Sofar Ocean technologies in Stonington Maine yesterday.
Too foggy to launch on arrival, but cleared up later ~15 miles out to allow aerial monitoring of testing for Sofar’s data bouys.
https://www.sofarocean.com

08/18/2024

Good news is that we MAY have had a significant natural die-off of the browntail moths. So, now is the time to observe your trees, especially if you have had browntail moths in the past or you know they are in the neighborhood. In the next few weeks the young caterpillars will feed and prepare their winter nests. Look for areas of rust-colored leaves as the first indication you have browntail activity, then make a plan for nest removal/treatment.
See shared post for more good information.

Browntail Moth Update #12: August 16, 2024 Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 08/16/2024 01:46 PM EDT View as a webpage / Share Maine Forest Service Browntail Moth Update #12: August 16, 2024 Browntail caterpillars have emerged from their egg masses Webs...

06/25/2024

Browntail moths will be showing up any day now. If you had nests on your property or nearby, try and reduce/eliminate outside lighting. Authors of a study out of UMaine also reported using yellow LED lights attracts many fewer moths.

Browntail Moth Update #10: June 21, 2024 Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 06/21/2024 08:57 AM EDT View as a webpage / Share Maine Forest Service Browntail Moth Update #10: June 21, 2024 Browntail caterpillars continue to pupate at all of our monitoring...

06/08/2024

Another good update as we move towards the next stage in dealing with these nasty little creatures!

Browntail Moth Update #8: June 7, 2024 Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 06/07/2024 04:15 PM EDT View as a webpage / Share Maine Forest Service Browntail Moth Update #8: June 7, 2024 At all of our monitoring sites, browntail caterpillars continue to gro...

05/02/2024

Good information here, might help reduce anxiety about the caterpillars you might see in your yard, and a general reminder to be thoughtful about pesticides.

Living With Caterpillars Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 05/02/2024 09:23 AM EDT View as a webpage / Share Maine Forest Service Caterpillar Season Spring has arrived in Maine, and with it, the Maine Forest Service and others have been fielding caterpi...

04/22/2024

Flit Drone Services had the scoop on this in our previous post, but here is the word from the experts…more good info here…hopefully we will get some natural die off this spring, but either way Flit and the Nestnabber will start clipping again in late November/early December, contact us early to get on the list, if you’re not already on it!!

Browntail Moth Update #1: April 22, 2024 Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 04/22/2024 02:06 PM EDT View as a webpage / Share Maine Forest Service Browntail Moth Update #1: April 22, 2024 Maine Forest Service Forest Health and Monitoring staff are conduc...