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Wet weather kept the destructive gypsy moth at bay this summer, allaying fears that the insatiable caterpillars would cause record levels of defoliation across the state.

Maryland officials spent $4.1 million to treat nearly 100,000 acres with insecticides this spring, and the county sprayed 1,205 acres, triple the area treated in 2007. Last summer saw the worst gypsy moth infestation in the state in 12 years, and officials counting moth egg masses laid on trees at the end of the season saw plenty more cause for concern.

But a combination of aggressive spraying and wet weather minimized the moth's impact, according to a statement from the Maryland Department of Agriculture. About 19,279 acres were defoliated in 13 counties and the city of Baltimore, 72 percent less than the 68,460 acres stripped last year, according to the department. Defoliation in Montgomery County rose to 55 acres, compared to 46 acres last year, according to Julie Oberg, an MDA spokeswoman.

The wet spring allowed a naturally occurring fungus that causes disease in gypsy moths to flourish, according to the department, and officials will soon begin conducting egg mass surveys to prepare for next year.

The gypsy moth, an invasive species frequently confused with the relatively benign tent caterpillar, is the most destructive pest of forest and shade trees in the state. It has defoliated more than 1 million acres since 1980, according to MDA. Young, healthy trees can withstand up to three years of defoliation, but older ones can be killed after just one year.

Managers at Sugarloaf Mountain, which straddles Frederick and Montgomery counties, paid $6,000 to spray 300 acres of the 3,300-acre park this year, in addition to the 1,700 acres treated by the state. Eighty-three acres were defoliated in 2007.

The spraying paid off, according to park manager Russell Thompson.

"We really didn't have any defoliation to speak of," he said. "… If it wouldn't have been for spraying and the wet weather, we would have lost those trees."