Spotted lanternflies swarm parts of NJ as summer infestation returns
Trees along Grandview Avenue in Edison are swarmed, and neighbors are frustrated.
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It’s another spotted lanternfly summer around New Jersey. News 12 crews have spotted these invasive insects emerging from Jersey City to Bay Head.
Trees along Grandview Avenue in Edison are swarmed, causing frustration among residents.
Kevin lives on Fourth Street in Edison. He developed a home remedy after he says the bugs killed two of his trees.
“Outdoor bug killer. Then, I’ve added some vinegar and bleach, which worked last year," he says.
The state Department of Agriculture has been urging residents to stomp out these invasive insects since they first arrived in the Garden State in 2018. They want the sap from more than 70 different plants.
Rutgers Entomology Professor Anne Nielsen told News 12 in June that the state had seen higher levels of lanternfly nymphs, which have now matured.
Part of what keeps these little buggers going - the agriculture department says that even though the adults die in the winter, the egg masses survive. Most of these egg masses are 10 feet or higher aboveground, making them difficult to eliminate.
