New Jersey Drivers Urged to Check Vehicles for Invasive Insects
Residents of eight New Jersey counties are being encouraged to inspect their cars before leaving the area to help curb the spread of invasive insects. The New Jersey Department of…
ISLE OF GRAIN, ENGLAND – AUGUST 31: A Dragonfly sits in reedbeds on the Isle of Grain on August 31, 2016 in Isle of Grain, England. The Isle of Grain is the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula in the district of Medway in Kent and a major habitat for wildlife encompassing protected marshland and reedbeds. The south of the Isle is an important industrial area including London Thamesport, a container seaport on the River Medway, serving the North Sea. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Residents of eight New Jersey counties are being encouraged to inspect their cars before leaving the area to help curb the spread of invasive insects.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture said spotted lanternflies, a species native to China and South Korea, are suspected to be spreading in Warren, Hunterdon, Mercer, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem and Somerset counties.
The counties are being placed under quarantine to help slow the spread of the insects, which officials said pose a danger to more than 70 plant species.
"The department asks that anyone who travels in a quarantined county do a quick inspection of their vehicle for the spotted lanternfly before leaving," the Department of Agriculture said.
The statement said the species is known to be "an excellent hitchhiker." It first arrived in 2014 in Pennsylvania, where 26 counties are currently under quarantine.
