By Kate Shunney, The Morgan Messenger
BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — Plant and bug experts in West Virginia are on alert about a new pest that is damaging boxwoods as they feed on the shrubbery and infest areas around them.
Morgan County Extension Agent Cindy Smalley said she has gotten reports of defoliation of box woods in different areas of the county, from the public garden areas on the Fairfax Green to the cemetery at Mt. Zion Church at Spohrs Crossroads. Private homeowners are also seeing the moth damage.
The box tree moth has only been reported in Morgan and Berkeley counties in West Virginia as of 2025. The pest is native to East Asia and was first detected in New York in 2021.
Read more: https://www.morganmessenger.com/2025/08/26/box-tree-moth-hits-boxwoods-in-morgan-berkeley-counties/