Canadian Food Inspection Agency monitoring for spongy moths in Calgary as spring settles in

Federal scientists are busy rolling out another year of pest monitoring equipment meant to protect Alberta's forests and agriculture.

And there are a few new additions around Calgary you might want to watch for.

Hanging here and there around the city are little green boxes.

Please don't touch them - they're a trap.

"There's a sticky substance on the bottom and a pheromone lure inside," said Nicole Brinsmead, an inspection advisor with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The traps are not at all dangerous to people.

They're meant to monitor and prevent a known danger to trees: spongy moths.

"It's an invasive moth," Brinsmead said.

"In the past few years, there have been low levels of detection in Calgary."

Hanging here and there around the city are little green boxes. They're meant to monitor and prevent a known danger to trees: spongy moths.

Brinsmead is tasked with monitoring the invasive moth in southern Alberta.

Her team is laying out roughly 1,200 of these delta-traps through her territory, watching for signs the moths are gaining a toe-hold.

"There's an established population in parts of Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and P.E.I.," Brinsmead said.

"There's not an established population in Western Canada."

Any spongy moths currently over-wintering in Alberta are still in their egg phase, clustered on tree trunks, firewood or patio furniture, waiting for spring to actually spring before hatching into pupae.

And then come the caterpillars.

"They'll strip the trees of all of their leaves and kill large amounts of trees, and that can be extremely detrimental to our economy, our forestry, agricultural industries," Brinsmead said.

If you find one of the traps on the ground, don't touch it.

Just call the number on the outside so someone can collect the samples and replace the trap.