WARREN COUNTY -- State agricultural officials are fighting gypsy moths in Warren County.

This week the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will treat a gypsy moth infestation near the Virginia border. State agricultural officials said the moth, originally from Europe, is wreaking havoc on trees in the United States.

"They'll eat 300 different species of trees and shrubs, so that's a problem," explained Matt Andresen, a gypsy moth expert with the state DOA. "They're originally from Europe so they don't have natural predators like a lot of the leaf-eating insects do."

He said the moths feed on tree leaves, and lay egg sacks that hold as many as 500 eggs. In heavily-infested areas, the moths can strip trees of foliage, and that leaves those trees vulnerable to damage from other pests.

Workers from the state DOA laid 20,000 traps across the state to find out where the moths are most heavily concentrated, and this week they're taking action.

"We'll be spraying a very specialized bio-pesticide," Andresen explained. "The active ingredient is actually a bacteria found in forest soils throughout the world, so if children have been playing in the ground and dirt, they've been exposed to this bacteria. So, it's harmless to humans and animals."

He said officials will spray the bio-pesticide over 500 acres. Reginald Hinton's property is located in the area.

"If [the moth] destroys trees and that sort of thing they need to spray for it," Hinton said. "Forestry and stuff like that is a big thing around this area, and a lot of folks own a lot of wood and wood is increasing in value, so you have to protect things. Yeah, its probably a good idea to go ahead and take care of it."

Andresen said spraying is all state officials can do for now.

"Our goal in the short-term is to eradicate these 'pop-up infestations' south of the main infestation in North Carolina," Andresen said. "But long-term gypsy moths will move through the state. Our goal is simply to slow that movement down."

Andresen said the U.S. Forest Service and the Gypsy Moth Slow the Spread Foundation will help the state spray the bio-pesticides. He said most of North Carolina's gypsy moths are located near the Virginia border, and the population spreads easily because they lay eggs anywhere -- including cars, trailers and boats.