Secaucus Environmental Team: Look For Lanternfly Eggs All Winter

SECAUCUS, NJ — Even though it's December, the eggs of the spotted lanternfly can survive the cold all winter long, and then hatch to release even more of this invasive species come spring.

That's why the Secaucus Environmental Department released this video telling residents to keep an eye out for spotted lanternfly "egg masses" even throughout the cold winter months.

The eggs look white when they are first laid, and then turn a brown color as time goes on. Keep an eye out for them around Secaucus.

When you find them, simply scrape them off trees with a stick or knife into a plastic bag. In the bag, you can douse them with rubbing alcohol to make sure all the eggs are totally killed.

"Destroying one egg mass is the equivalent of stomping out 30-50 adults. It's important we destroy as many egg masses as we can before they're set to hatch in the spring," said Ava Mroz, an environmental assistant in the Secaucus Environmental Department.

"The eggs won't hatch until about April, so we have time to destroy as many as we can!" Mroz told Patch.

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive species from Asia that kills many different types of trees by sucking the nutrients out of them. Watch the video and message from Ava Mroz: https://green.secaucusnj.gov/t...

Get great local news. Sign up for Patch emails: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact the Secaucus Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com