The plan that was supposed to combat crop-eating moth in some urban areas from California, by spraying chemicals in order to kill them, has been canceled, officials said Thursday.

According to The Associated Press, officials said that they were all set to go further with plans but, because the public was against this measure, saying it would affect the environment and also their health, the program had to be stopped.

A.G. Kawamura, state secretary of food and agriculture, made an announcement and said that California officials gave up the plans to use pesticide-spraying planes in order to fight the light brown apple moth in cities.

“I know there's concern out there, and we want to be able to address that,” said Kawamura, reported The Associated Press. He also said that the new technology had advanced and they were trying to use it.

The state and federal agricultural officials said that they would use another measure which implies the release of sterile moths that would make the moth eggs useless. The state secretary of food and agriculture said that this plan issued no environmental worries.

Authorities also said that the pesticide will be sprayed only on farmlands and they would make sure that the nearby communities would not be affected.   

Last fall, about 487 people complained of symptoms like itchy eyes and breathing trouble, after plane sprayed pesticides over the area surrounding Monterey and Santa Cruz. Moreover, two counties an environmental group took the issue to court and sued the state, because it broke the law, by not checking the substance and its effect on the environment.

Thursday decision made those who were against the measure very happy.

“This is a landmark victory for the public,” said David Dilworth, executive director of Helping Our Peninsula's Environment.

The insect has invaded 10 counties from north of San Francisco to Santa Barbara.