The summit of Mount Gyeyang in Gyeyang District, Incheon, is covered with lovebugs, causing inconvenience for hikers on June 30, 2025. [YONHAP]
Hundreds of traps, helicopter airlifts and drone sprayers are set to be deployed in Incheon to prevent a repeat of last year's love bug invasion at one of the city's most popular hiking spots, according to the municipal government on Friday.
Mount Gyeyang, the highest mountain in Incheon some 395 meters (1,296 feet) above sea level, was overrun by the insects last June, forcing hikers off trails and flooding local authorities with complaints. Bug-related reports in the surrounding Gyeyang District skyrocketed from 62 in 2024 to 472 last year, the highest of any of Incheon's 10 districts.
The National Institute of Biological Resources is now leading the response at the mountain, planning to install 100 lure-and-capture devices near the 395-meter summit by early next month. The devices use aromatic compound-based agents to attract and trap adult love bugs. The agency had originally planned just 30 units, but sharply expanded the operation after last year's population surge on the mountain.
Two "high-altitude traps" will also join the arsenal at the summit — each standing 3 meters tall and weighing 200 kilograms (441 pounds) — drawing insects in with specialized lighting before vacuuming them up.
Getting the bulky equipment to the top is a challenge in itself, with Incheon city officials considering airlifting the devices using the helipad already located at the peak. "Since the traps need to be installed at the top of the mountain, we agreed to support the logistics," a city official said. "We plan to sign a contract with a private helicopter company."
Lovebugs, or
Plecia longiforcep
, are an invasive species of March fly with a distinctive red thorax. This year, they are predicted to be most active from June 15 to 29, with numbers peaking on June 24. The flies are commonly found across East Asia, including Japan and China, and do not directly harm humans or crops. But their habit of swarming around light sources in large numbers in Korea since 2022 has generated a steady flow of public complaints.
Officials from the Ministry of Environment and its affiliated agencies are carrying out pest control operations using blowers and insect nets to remove adult lovebugs active around Mount Gyeyang in Gyeyang District, Incheon, on July 4, 2025. [MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT]
The deployments in Incheon follow two field experiments already conducted on April 22 and May 6, in which eco-friendly, microbe-based pesticides were sprayed across an 8,100-square-meter (2-acre) zone near Mount Gyeyang to reduce larval populations before the insects reach adulthood. Surveys found roughly 300 love bug larvae per square meter (10 square feet) at elevations above 300 meters on the mountain.
Further measures are in the pipeline, including water-spraying drones and sticky traps. Authorities are also looking into a separate cleanup operation to deal with insect carcasses as well.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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