Lanternfly Sightings

They have returned. Late last month, we had our first lanternfly sightings at the Tribune office. Just as it has for the past few summers, sightings are beginning to occur all over town, and will only increase in the coming weeks. This latest generation of the crop-destroying spotted lanternflies has been hatching throughout New Jersey since July. The bugs are colorful, eye-catching, and look different throughout their life cycle, which can make identifying them a challenge. They have yet to reach full maturity for the season; in a few weeks, they will do so, and begin laying egg masses that will hatch next spring. In the past few years, state and township officials have made it clear what to do if you come in contact with a lanternfly: if you see it, stomp it. Anyone who comes across the insect should destroy it immediately to help slow the spread of these invasive and destructive pests. These insects feed on 70 different plant species, causing significant damage, and even death, to them. According to French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, there are specific steps homeowners can take to fight spotted lanternfly infestation: smash them, spray them with insecticide soap, spray weeds with vinegar, scrape the eggs into a bottle containing alcohol, suck the flies up with a shop vac, and wrap sticky paper or backwards duct tape around an infested tree. Unfortunately, the time to eradicate lanternflies has passed; they appear to be here to stay. We fear that the problem will be worse this year than last, even if we have grown somewhat accustomed to the pesky insects flying right at us without warning. But if we do not attempt to address the problem now, it will only continue to worsen at this time next year, and the year after that, in perpetuity