Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER J. CONNORS
District 9 (Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes counties to reduce greenhead fly populations; appropriates $50,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning pest control and supplementing chapter 9 of Title 26 of the Revised Statutes and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The board of chosen freeholders of any county in which the population of greenhead flies has become a local nuisance or pest problem may authorize, designate, and employ the county mosquito extermination commission to conduct a program for the reduction of the greenhead fly population in affected areas of the county which shall consist of the manufacture, placement, and maintenance of greenhead fly box traps developed by Rutgers, the State University.
2. There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection $50,000 from the General Fund, to be distributed as grants to affected counties for the purpose of funding a greenhead fly extermination program pursuant to the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would empower a county board of chosen freeholders to authorize its county mosquito extermination commission to conduct a program to reduce the population of greenhead flies in areas of the county where they have become a significant nuisance or pest problem. The bill specifies that the programs would consist of the manufacture, placement, and maintenance of greenhead fly box traps that have been developed by Rutgers, the State University. The bill would appropriate $50,000 for the funding of greenhead fly extermination programs in affected counties.
Greenhead fly larvae develop in New Jersey's coastal marshes. The fly population becomes abundant from June to September, reaching peak numbers in July. In order to continue to lay eggs during its lifespan of three to four weeks, adult female greenheads travel from the salt marsh environment to surrounding open and wooded areas in search of blood sources such as people, cattle, and other animals. High concentrations of these flies have a detrimental impact on residents and others who live, work, or enjoy recreational activities in close proximity to them, and are of special concern in shore municipalities that rely on tourism for their prosperity.