Spotted lanternflies are back in RI. Here's where the state is spraying them.

The highly invasive and destructive spotted lanternfly , first seen in Rhode Island in 2021, is continuing to pop up in pockets of infestations around the state, and the Department of Environmental Management will begin spraying them this week in several locations.

Spotted lanternflies , first seen in the U.S. in 2014, have been detected in nine Rhode Island communities, according to RIDEM. They have been found in:

• Smithfield
• North Providence
• Lincoln
• Cumberland
• Pawtucket
• Providence
• Johnston
• Cranston
• Warwick

Where is RIDEM spraying for spotted lanternflies?

RIDEM will be spraying the spotted lanternflies starting Wednesday, July 31 (weather permitting) in the following areas:

• Lincoln (including Lincoln Woods)
• Smithfield
• North Providence
• Providence
• Pawtucket

RIDEM says the spraying will be targeted to transportation areas, high movement areas, heavily infested areas and areas near agriculture. It will not be a large-scale spraying operation.

What is RIDEM spraying? The EPA-approved insecticides Bifenthrin and Dinotefuran.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Spotted lanternflies are back in RI. Here's where the state is spraying them.