The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 7th that it has launched preemptive measures to prevent the spread of so-called outbreak insects such as the lovebug and the Asian mayfly, which swarmed across the capital region last summer.

These insects do not transmit infectious diseases, but they appear in large numbers over short periods, causing discomfort and inconvenience. Last year, the city received 5,282 complaints about lovebugs and 43 about Asian mayflies.

The city will roll out eco-friendly, tailored control measures that reflect the ecological characteristics and occurrence timing of each species, and will reinforce on-site technologies by expanding trapping devices and introducing spraying drones.

During the larval stage in AprilMay, lovebugs inhabit leaf litter and humus. To curb population growth, the city is tidying parks and green spaces, including removing fallen leaves and leaf litter.

In two areas predicted for mass larval outbreaksBaengnyeonsan in Eunpyeong-gu and Bulamsan in Nowon-gucovering a total of 12,600㎡, the city will spray the eco-friendly microbial control agent ‘Bti’. Bti selectively targets the larvae of certain fly species.

During the peak adult outbreak period of JuneJuly, trapping equipment will be expanded. The light-source trap piloted at Baengnyeonsan last year will continue operating, and a high-altitude mass trap will be newly introduced at Bulamsan. Around parks and mountain areas in 19 districts, 1,300 traps using attractants will be installed. Timed to the outbreak period, large-scale spraying operations will be carried out with the districts, and large pest-control spraying drones will be introduced in Gangseo and Yangcheon.

For the Asian mayfly, nicknamed ‘Tinker Bell’, the city will pursue tailored controls that leverage its attraction to light. The number of blue-light removal lamps installed around Ttukdo Market in Seongdong-gu will be increased from 200 to 300. Last year, noting that Asian mayflies are drawn to blue light, the city installed yellow lighting with the blue wavelengths removed, and mayflies did not swarm near those lights. One high-altitude mass trap will also be newly installed near Ttukseom Hangang Park.

Going forward, the city will also establish a scientific control system based on artificial intelligence (AI) data analysis that combines pilot-project monitoring results with complaint locations, occurrence timing, and weather data. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said, “We plan to enable more precise and efficient responses by predicting occurrence trends in advance.”