Lately, Long Island residents have reported sightings of Spotted Lanternflies in huge numbers which means they’re now in the state. This has also been confirmed with various photos showing the pests at work. As seen in the image below, a Long Island tree is literally crawling with these bugs who will eventually destroy it.

This is why Spotted Lanternflies are so universally despised, as they’re not good for the local environment, and due to their large numbers, they can easily devour crops and not just ruin the native ecosystem, but also the economy.

For those worried about their yard getting eaten up or invaded by these pests – there are a few options that you can consider. Firstly, spraying these with hot soapy water with vinegar will often kill them. However, this is mostly a short-term solution and if there are too many of them, then it may not change much. On a positive note, this solution will not harm the environment either.

The second solution is to contact the city who may come and sort them out by using pest control. Of course, usually when you contact the city, it’s a bit of a lottery regarding their response rate and whether they’ll actually give much help.

Until then, it looks like Long Island is in for a long summer as these pests look set to cause many US cities and states a number of annoying problems.