Spongy Moth Surveyor – MDA
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is seeking to fill approximately 25 Forest Pest (Spongy Moth) Surveyor positions for the MDA’s annual Spongy Moth Trapping Survey.
The European Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar) is a human nuisance and a serious threat to Minnesota’s forests and urban trees and shrubs. Once established, the caterpillars cause costly and extensive defoliation damage during outbreaks. The trapping survey will allow us to detect and monitor for the pest early on, identify potential problem areas, and provide data necessary to make future management decisions to slow the spread of this invasive insect into the State of Minnesota.
Job duties include assembling, setting, monitoring and removing up to 800 cardboard detection traps. Surveyors will each be assigned a route that is reasonably accessible from their home office location (where they live). Surveyors collect data using a GPS-enabled tablet (training provided) and report daily to a lead worker.