Keep An Eye Out For Spotted Lanternfly In Gloucester County

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, NJ — Gloucester County officials are asking residents to report any sightings of the Spotted Lanternfly around the county.

The Spotted Lanternfly is a threat to over seventy different plant species, including fruit trees, ornamental trees, woody trees, vegetables, herbs and vines, including agricultural crops like grapes and hops.

“The Spotted Lanternfly is a pest that affects the quality of life of Gloucester County residents,” Gloucester County Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger said. “We have to combat this insect so it won’t attack the crops that make up a large part of Gloucester County.”

Residents are being asked to keep an eye out for the Spotted Lanternfly in the county, and to check their vehicles before leaving Pennsylvania to come to New Jersey. The insects, first spotted in Berks County in 2014, are invasive and can be spread long distances by people who move infested material or items containing egg masses.

“The Spotted Lanternfly dies during the winter but their eggs survive through the cold to hatch in the spring. They do not attack people, pets or livestock but the effects on trees and other plants can be devastating,” Gloucester County Freeholder Jim Lavender, liaison to the Department of Parks and the Office of Farmland Preservation, said.

Anyone who sees the Spotted Lanternfly is asked to kill it. Anyone who finds an egg mass on a tree, is asked to can scrape them off, double bag them and throw it again. You may also place the eggs into alcohol, bleach or hand sanitizer to kill them.

Watch instructional video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoFp_MbDiE8

For more information on the Spotted Lanternfly, refer to the Rutgers NJAES website, https://njaes.rutgers.edu/spotted-lanternfly/, and the NJDA website.

Report any Spotted Lanternfly sightings to the state Department of Agriculture’s special hotline number 833-BADBUG-0 (833-223-2840) or send an email to SLF-plantindustry@ag.nj.gov.

Egg masses are typically about 1-1.5 inches long and covered with a gray or yellowish-brown, waxy coating. Each egg mass may contain 30 to 50 eggs that will hatch from late April to early May.

Specimens of any life stage can be turned in to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s lab for verification.

With your GPS function turned on your smartphone or a camera with GPS, take a photograph of any life stage (including egg masses) and submit picture to: SLF-plantindustry@ag.nj.gov.

If you can’t take a specimen or photograph, call New Jersey Spotted Lanternfly Hotline at 1-833-223- 2840 (BADBUG0) and leave a message detailing your sighting and contact information
For more information, go to nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/spottedlanternfly.html.