Are you seeing more spotted lanternflies this summer? The heat could be impacting their growth, expert says
NEW YORK - Some people in the Tri-State say they're seeing more spotted lanternflies this summer, and they think it's because of the heat.
CBS New York's Shosh Bedrosian got some insight from an expert.
Does heat affect spotted lanternflies?
One expert says the heat might be impacting the life stages of the spotted lanternflies and how quickly they become full adults.
"We're not going to see a sudden explosion in the number of lanternflies because of the heat, but what we could see is they could move more quickly through the different stages," said Sam Anderson, the Urban Agriculture Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension. "Because we do seem to be ahead of schedule with spotted lanternflies this year because it's been so warm, we might see adults any day now."
New Jersey residents battling spotted lanternfly infestations
Favio Ulloa, of Prestige Pest Services, and his team were in Wallington, New Jersey Wednesday, preparing their tools and solution to get rid of a problem area on a resident's property. These nuisance, invasive species congregate together, but even though it might seem like small numbers, Ulloa said you have to get rid of them early.
"Now, they're growing and developing now. They're going to be medium-sized insects," said Ulloa.
"Summer started coming along, and we've been seeing a lot of lanternflies around. Especially with the warm weather, they like to stay in the front of the house," said resident Desi Beltran.
Ulloa believes it's best to get ahead of an infestation before it gets worse.
"Right now, we have a lot of reduction for the spotted lanternflies, we have a lot of eggs and reproduction. Now it's the third year we're doing this on a monthly basis," he said.
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