Now is the time to start planning to slow the growth of the spongy moth outbreak.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is urging residents to check their trees for nickel or quarter-sized, tan-colored masses on their trees. Oak, birch, crabapple, aspen, willow, and linden trees are especially susceptible because they are the preferred species of the spongy moth, which is considered an invasive species. Those masses could contain several future spongy moths, formerly known as the gypsy moth before the Entomological Society of America changed the name out of respect for the Romani people.

Fifty-two of the state’s 72 counties, including Door and Kewaunee, are considered to be quarantined counties, which the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection terms as areas where you should not move logs, nursery stock, firewood, Christmas trees, and other outdoor items from your home. Most of the counties that are outside of the quarantine zone border the Mississippi River.

If you locate these masses on your trees, you should plan to schedule insecticide treatments to take place between mid-May and early June depending on where you live.