The tiny pest that has destroyed tens of thousands of state trees will face one of the largest sprays since the state began the program in the 1970s.

Experts say recent dry springs, as well as mild winters, have caused the moths to reproduce rapidly. They said the counties that ring Greater Cleveland have gypsy moth populations that vary in size but have choked trees of nutrients, hurt property values and killed off shrubs.

Residents in Geauga, Cuyahoga and Ashtabula counties complain of caterpillar manure and egg masses that develop on cars, trucks and windowpanes, said Mike Miller, a plant expert at Ohio State University. In 2002, the Cleveland Metroparks cut down 160 trees the moths damaged in the Bedford and Brecksville reservations.

Lorain County is the Northeast Ohio county attacking the moths the hardest. This spring, the state will spray 2,930 acres in Avon Lake, North Ridgeville, Amherst and Lorain – 10 times larger than the area sprayed last year, according to state records.

“They are such ferocious eaters that once they start – if there are enough of them – they can finish a tree’s leaves in a few days,” said Dave Adkins of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. “And there is no predator that’s going after them. That’s the problem.”

The state said the dusting will not harm residents, pets or gardens.