Do you own a pool here in Central New York? One of the many tasks of the pool is cleaning it. New York State officials are asking you to watch for a certain type of beetle inside your pool.

The Department of Environmental Conservation is running its annual Asian long-horned beetle swimming pool survey now through August 30th. That means, the state is asking you to watch out for these insects inside your pool filters.

This is the time of year when the insects become active outside of the trees they are infesting. Volunteers are asked to check pool filters and skimmers and send in pictures of suspected Asian long-horned beetles."

According to WKTV, the invasive beetles have killed hundreds of thousands of trees across the nation. Here in New York they seem to kill plenty of maple trees. The beetles are approximately 1.5 inches long, and shiny, black with white spots on their wing cases. They have black and white antennae that can be up to twice as long as their body.

If you believe you found one, the DEC would like you to take the following steps:

- Take pictures of the infestation signs as described above (include something for scale such as a coin or ruler).
- Note the location (intersecting roads, landmarks or GPS coordinates).
- Contact DEC Forest Health (see below) or your local Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) by visiting http://www.nyis.info/ (leaves DEC website)
- Call the ALB tip line at 1-866-702-9938

Just another bug to watch out for this summer.


BONUS VIDEO

 

More From Big Frog 104