The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has announced that reimbursement funding is available for all New Jersey counties for treatment of the spotted lanternfly. The funding amount can be as much as $15,000 and possibly more. The funds will be given to counties for costs they accrue for chemical treatment activities associated with spotted lanternfly control.
“This is an excellent opportunity for each county in New Jersey to take advantage of funding that can assist them in helping reduce the populations of this invasive pest,” NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher said. “The more participants we have in this program the stronger our fight will be against this invasive menace.”
The spotted lanternfly is currently reaching its adult stage and will eventually begin laying egg masses that will hatch next spring. While the adult spotted lanternfly cannot survive the winter temperatures, the egg masses are not affected.
Home and business owners can go to www.badbug.nj.gov to find information that includes a timeline for the stages of growth for the insect as well as treatment options. Along with the listed treatment options, residents and businesses can also use licensed pesticide applicators to provide treatments to kill the spotted lanternfly. However, if residents do choose an over-the-counter treatment option, they should carefully follow directions on the product when applying it.
While the spotted lanternfly does not harm humans or animals, it can feed on about 70 different types of vegetation or trees. The pest’s preferred host is the Tree of Heaven, an invasive plant that has been in the United States for decades. The spotted lanternfly is native to Asia and was first found in the U.S. in Berks County, Pa., in 2014. It is considered a plant hopper and can fly only a few feet at a time. However, the spotted lanternfly is an excellent hitchhiker and can travel on almost any kind of transportation for several miles, which has allowed it to spread to several states.
The Department asks people to check their vehicles whenever possible before leaving an area to make sure the pest is not coming along for the ride. The NJDA has a checklist of items and places on where to look for the spotted lanternfly before leaving an area here. The checklist serves to inform the public about the spotted lanternfly, including how to identify all life stages of the insect and minimize its movement.
Is this part of the “New Green Deal” boondoggle ??
In response to the New Jersey Department Of Agriculture’s announcement regarding reimbursement funding to provide treatments to kill the spotted lanternfly, the plant hopping insect issued a statement on Thursday pleading with New Jerseyans to accept its “sincerest apologies” and to let it “live in peace”.
The renowned hitchhiker also expressed dismay at the demeaning labels being used to describe it.
“Please accept my sincerest apologies for consuming your vegetation,” the Lanternfly said in the statement. “I am more than willing to work hard for a living, so that I wouldn’t have to hoard your greenery.
“Problem is, every time I do a job interview, they reject me, saying I’m extremely underweight, and that I am too feeble to work, etc. etc. etc., yadi-yadi-ya.
“Honestly, I’ve been hopping around from one job interview to the next, to no avail.
“So, when I hear people calling me an “invasive pest”, or an “invasive menace”, it makes me fly off the handle.
“Ultimately, I am an able bodied insect who is willing to work long hours to earn a living. Either give me a chance to prove myself in the workplace, or don’t give me a chance, but stop making death threats to me via your public announcements, and stop calling me a “menace! My wife and children are listening, and they are not all too happy about it!”
You just keep getting funnier and funnier!
Thank you for a good laugh.
Good Shabbos to everyone
Ocean County, please please get rid of these!! i don’t know why these more than other bugs, but they really freak me out.
they are red and evil-looking with thick black legs and they fall like a parachute right next to you. then they lurk around and move sloooowly before taking off like a rocket. and they love my porch.
They are all around my house!