‎Dangerous Crop Destroying Lanternfly Has Now Spread to Seven N.J. Counties. Kill It If You See It

‎

‎You might remember these little guys from last year. An insect called the Lantern Fly caused havoc among Christmas tree growers in several states is back in 2019. This time the bug was spotted in southern New Jersey in Camden county. Agricultural experts are getting ready to grab hold of another potential infestation of crops, caused by these spotted little insects. Last year we reported that the Lanternfly existed in the crops of live Christmas trees grown for the holiday season 2018. Now early detectors have spotted the lanternfly again, among crops in southern NJ. It’s not clear if NJ is an isolated instance regarding geographic location, but if history is a barometer, then you can probably expect to see the insect again if you plan to put up a live Christmas tree in your home or business during this upcoming holiday season. ‎The lanternfly attaches itself to the branches and trunk of a fresh cut Christmas tree. During the excitement of being caught up in the holiday season, you might miss these small insects saddled to the branches or trunk of your real Christmas tree. Current information on the bugs suggest that you inspect your tree really good before you bring it into your home. Additionally, shaking the fresh cut Christmas tree vigorously upside down has shown to be the best measure for shaking the little bugs loose. As usual, let your common sense be your greatest resource and exercise vigilance related to fresh trees or plants that you bring into your home. If it looks like a bug on the trunk of your natural Christmas tree, in all probability it is a bug. Experts say to exercise caution. A once over all the branches with a flashlight and shaking the tree vigorously upside down before purchasing and then bringing the tree into your home or business. “It’s important to be extra vigilant”, says Ms. Sharon Wilson a volunteer at the Agriculture Center for US businesses both large and small. If you want to be absolutely certain that you do not bring any bugs into your home this holiday season, buy an artificial Christmas tree instead of a live Christmas tree. You can leave the tree up as long as you want without creating a fire hazard. You don’t have to water an artificial Christmas tree either. You can enjoy the scent of a live Christmas tree by using a can of pine scented air freshener. Artificial Christmas trees are definitely more convenient and do not create the mess that a real Christmas tree does. You can even buy lighted artificial Christmas trees, where the lights are already pre-installed. It also helps remove the possibility of you or one of your family members waking up next to a lanternfly sitting on your pillow. For more information on the lantern fly for 2019, bookmark this website and enter lanternflies into the search box. Wowser! There goes Santa Claus testing out his new sleigh again. So until tomorrow, we hope you have a terrific day. Happy decorating!

‎Kind Regards,
Blitzen @ Team Santa Inc.
www.teamsanta.com

😎

Lanternfly Warning For Six States Can Infest Your Home Through Real Christmas Trees

**Spotted Lanternflies Can Infest Your Home Through A Live Christmas Tree**

Lanternfly Warning For Six States Bug Can Infest Your Home Through Real Christmas Trees

The spotted lanternfly could spoil many families’ holiday season, according to New Jersey agricultural expert Joseph Zoltowski, director of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Division of Plant Industry, speaking to NJ.com.

Zoltowski says the tree-killing insect could potentially spread to homes by hiding in Christmas trees and leaving eggs to hatch. The spotted lanternfly, which is a native of eastern Asia, arrived in the U.S. four years ago in Pennsylvania and has spread throughout the eastern parts of the state.

The bug has recently been detected in three New Jersey counties—Hunterdon, Mercer and Warren. It is believed to spread by attaching itself and its eggs to vehicles carrying wood, landscaping materials and agricultural produce, which would include the bark and branches of Christmas trees. “They’re very hard to spot,” said Zoltowski.

A woman in Warren County, New Jersey, confirmed that she found lanternfly eggs attached to her Christmas tree once the insects hatched inside her home, according to Zoltowski. The expert said that there were two egg masses discovered in the bark, which are capable of storing as many as 30 to 50 eggs each.

Zoltowksi suggests that those planning to get a pre-cut Christmas tree should inspect every branch carefully for eggs and both live and dead insects before making a purchase of a live Christmas tree. Though the tree itself would only be killed by a large number of these insects, any presence of the bugs could spread in your home. “It’s a bad bug in that it could affect all types of agriculture,” Zoltowski said.

According to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture: “The Spotted Lanternfly adult is approximately 1 inch long and a half-inch wide at rest. The fore wing is grey with black spots and the wings tips are reticulated black blocks outlined in gray. “The hind wings have contrasting patches of red and black with a white band. The legs and head are black; the abdomen is yellow with broad black bands. Immature stages are black with white spots, and develop red patches as they grow.

“Adults and nymphs feed on phloem tissues of young stems with their piercing and sucking mouth parts and excrete large flies
quantities of liquid (honeydew) [which] facilitates the growth of sooty mold,” reports the department. Grape and apple growers in Pennsylvania are on high alert as female lanternflies are laying eggs for the following year, according to
American Agriculturalist.

“All lanternflies are in their adult stage right now, and females are laying eggs on hard surfaces such as trees, stones, fences, fence posts or vineyard posts,” according to American Agriculturalist’s report. “Spotted lanternflies have an apparent appetite for grapes, wine or juice, with 200 to 250 feedings per vine.”

For more information read The New Jersey Department of Agriculture guidelines on spotted lanternfly identification and reporting. Written by Jason Hall at Newsweek.com

“Destructive Invasive Pest” Christmas Tree Farms in Five States Being Bugged by the Spotted Lanternfly

Greetings Decorating Enthusiasts –
‎
Welcome back to another edition of the Team Santa Inc. News Daily. Today we continue our story with what officials are calling a “Destructive Invasive Pest”. Apparently this insect, called the spotted lanternfly and has been spotted at live Christmas tree lots in 5 states in the northeast part of the U.S. The bug from what we understand is not poisonous, but it can enter your home latched onto your live Christmas tree if you use one. New York State Environmental Conservation and Agriculture have confirmed that both live and dead spotted lanternflies were found at a tree nursery in Deer Park, Suffolk County, which is in NY. Apparently they arrived via a shipment originating from Pennsylvania and headed to the east cost carrying live Christmas trees.

“We are closely tracking spotted lanternfly, a destructive invasive pest that has the potential to severely impact our state’s agricultural and tourism industries,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a press release. Newman Copelow, long time industry expert says “that this outbreak of insects does not have to be a concern if you use an artificial Christmas tree. The threat only exists through the use of live or real Christmas trees”. Copelow continued, “the new artificial Christmas trees they make these days look more realistic than ever” Plus “you can buy one with LED Christmas lights” already pre-installed. Then you can connect your tree to your computer or other smart device”. He said, “It’s not quite clear why people are still using real Christmas trees in 2018”. In addition to the potential for fire, customers who purchase live Christmas trees must be on the lookout for insects in their homes this holiday season.

Spotted lanternfly infestations were first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014 and have since been found in New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia, New York. There is anticipation related to the risk of the spotted lanternfly to populate the batches of live Christmas trees being delivered. According to the DEC, spotted lanternflies are at first black with white spots before turning red when they become adults. They start to appear as early and April each year. They are approximately one inch long, with eye-catching wings. Their forewings are gray and black, hindwings red with black spots and the upper portions are dark with a white stripe. Adults lay eggs on nearly anything from trunks, roots, firewood, furniture and even cars. Now the bug can enter your home or business via your live Christmas tree. This has caused great concern among Christmas tree growers and their affiliates. Shipment of real Christmas trees originating at this time are being refused and told not to ship. Some say thousands of Christmas trees have already been affected by the outbreak. “Given the widespread devastation this invasive pest can have on our agricultural crops, we appreciate all efforts to identify and report the spotted lanternfly in New York State,” State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said. If you believe you’ve found spotted lanternfly in New York the DEC asks you to take the following steps: Take a picture of the insect, egg masses and/or any signs of infestation. Send it by email to [email protected] Note the location (address, intersecting roads, landmarks or GPS coordinates.)

Until next time, Happy Decorating!

Thank you,
Team Santa Inc.
www.teamsanta.com

A Ravenous Creature, The Spotted Lanternfly, Now Spotted In New York Too. Safety Concerns Continue to Grow About Live Christmas Trees

Welcome decorating enthusiasts to another edition of the Team Santa Inc. News Daily. We hope your doing well. Today’s topic is bugs, insects, etc. I don’t know about you but if I see a bug in my house I become aware of my surroundings and inspect my property for bugs. It’s called insect patrol.

Now all of a sudden this Spotted Lanternfly has just dominated the news related to the possibility of real Christmas trees being infested by ?these insects during the holiday season. There are so many people out there who demand a real Christmas tree but they don’t seriously consider the risk. House fires peak during the holiday season. This is because the Christmas lights can present a danger when used on a real Christmas tree, if used improperly, etc. The owner needs to make certain that the needles of the real Christmas tree do not dry up from the heat of the holiday lights. One thing leads to another and now you have a terrible fire. I see it on the news all the time during the holiday season. It’s sad to say the least, but unfortunately it’s true. So now not only do you need to heed the warning of the fire hazard, but now your real Christmas tree has been exposed to spotted lanternflys. Doesn’t that sound pretty gross? Christmas enthusiasts must now also accept the fact that they may be bringing bugs into their home during the holiday season. This is a serious health and safety concern.

If you do buy a real Christmas tree, please keep it wet and look it up and down to see if you can spot the spotted lanternfly insect nesting anyway in the tree. You could always just go and purchase a prelighted LED artificial Christmas tree and you will put a stop to the potential danger you are exposing yourself, your friends and family, including your pets to this nasty insect. The choice is yours of course.I

Enjoy your Tuesday. We’ll see you tomorrow with more information.

Until next time..

Happy Decorating!

Team Santa Inc.
www.teamsanta.com

😎

Dreaded Spotted Lantern Fly Finds Way Into Your Home Through Real Christmas Trees

Greetings Decorating Enthusiasts –
‎
Happy Monday to all our wonderful readers. Over the weekend, someone had shared with me a story that totally grossed me out. As a reporter for the Team Santa Inc. News Daily, I felt compelled to continue to share this information with you. If you wish to share, please do.
‎
—-START STORY—-‎

This Christmas tree infesting bug found in New Jersey could lay eggs in your house. Lantern fly threatens NJ trees and fruit crops New Jersey officials will begin looking for egg masses this autumn to see if the spotted lantern fly has come into the state from Pennsylvania.

Remember a while back when we told you about the spotted lantern fly, a tree-destroying pest that has been found in multiple New Jersey counties? ‎Well, it turns out these bugs could end up making everyone’s Christmas a whole lot less merry, according to a report from NJ.com. New Jersey agriculture experts say that the spotted lantern fly latches on to multiple kinds of trees, including many types of pine trees, and that could cause a rapid spread of the species this Christmas season, the report says – “As such, they’re warning folks all over the state to take extra care in choosing the tree they chose to decorate their homes with this upcoming Christmas season”. And as if potentially causing the spread of this tree-destroying pest wasn’t scary enough, experts also warn that once in your home, the spotted lantern fly could lay eggs and spread even more rapidly, according to the report. So far, the spotted lantern fly has been found in Warren, Hunterdon and Mercer counties, so if those are your go-to spots for Christmas trees…beware. If you do find yourself with these bugs, call the Department of Agriculture on their hotline number — 833-BADBUG-0 (833-223-2840). ‎ The information above was sourced from NorthJersey.com.

—-‎‎END STORY—-‎

Folks, everyone has an opinion on whether to select an artificial Christmas tree or a real Christmas tree. It’s our opinion that if you are serious about keeping your family safe this holiday season, you really need to heed this warning and stop engaging in activities that cause problems. House fires are the number one reason to switch to an artificial Christmas tree. However, I would hate to wake up next to one of these bugs lounging on my pillow next to me. I don’t know about you, but it’s just another reason to buy an artificial Christmas tree and not a live Christmas tree. Until next time..‎
‎
Happy Decorating!

Team Santa Inc.
www.teamsanta.com