Facing a menace to its mountain forests and backyard trees, Roanoke County will hire a contractor to act as its gypsy moth coordinator in an effort to combat the devastating insect, county officials said Thursday.

The contractor will count gypsy moth eggs this fall and submit the numbers to state officials, who decide which localities qualify for federal funds that partially pay for aerial spraying in the springtime.

Currently, the federal budget includes no money for aerial spraying, but Roanoke County Administrator Elmer Hodge said the county will consider using its own funds to spray Bent and Poor mountains if federal funding doesn't come through.

Hodge, standing with county and state officials, made the pledge to about 50 worried residents who packed a public meeting Thursday at the Bent Mountain Fire Station.

Many residents had angrily questioned why authorities didn't spray last year -- the infestation still wasn't bad enough to qualify for the state-federal program -- but they left the meeting satisfied that the county was taking action.

"It looked like it could have been a real sensational story -- us against them, the citizens against the government -- but I think we're all finally moving in the right direction," Bent Mountain resident Ed Elswick said.

The contractor, a gypsy moth specialist who has consulted with other counties, will make a presentation to the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors at its July 11 meeting.

The contractor's fee could be up to $10,000, but the potential cost to the county for aerial spraying is uncertain because it depends on the number of acres sprayed and other factors.

Large swaths of oak, apple and other trees on Bent and Poor mountains have been stripped of leaves by the gypsy moth, so named for its ability to spread by hitching a ride on anything from the wind to vehicles, lawn chairs, firewood and other objects.

One Poor Mountain resident, Mike Mills, said thousands of acres of trees around his house are dead or dying.

Roanoke, Craig and Giles counties probably will be added in September to the state's gypsy moth quarantine zone, which already covers most of Virginia.

The quarantine means timber, nursery plants, firewood, vehicles and other items that can hide moth eggs must be inspected by their owners before they can leave the quarantined area.

Gypsy moths have devastated millions of acres across the eastern United States, causing a range of environmental and economic woes, including increased wildfire risk, soil erosion, damage to wildlife and fish habitats, and lowered property values.

Virginia has sprayed for gypsy moths nearly every year since the 1980s. Aerial insecticide spraying can slow the spread of the gypsy moth but not eradicate it. Native to Europe and Asia, the gypsy moth was brought to Massachusetts in 1869 in an effort to find a new strain of silk moth for commercial use. Major damage started 20 years later and didn't come in force to Virginia until about 1980.

Now the caterpillars annually defoliate millions of acres from North Carolina to Canada and west to Wisconsin.

The gypsy moth's spread can be slowed by insecticides, a virus, a fungus that thrives in cool, wet weather, and springtime freezes, which act in different ways to kill off the exotic pest.

The primary insecticide is Bacillus thuringiensis, which kills gypsy moths as well as other types of moths and butterflies.

The insecticide has no effect on people and pets. Property owners are notified before aerial spraying begins.

Defoliated trees don't necessarily die after one season, but the damage stresses the trees and can make them susceptible to other threats, such as drought, disease or more defoliation in another year.