Seeing More Fireflies Than Usual in New Hampshire? Here’s the Reason Why

Populations of fireflies are going down around the world, however, here in New Hampshire, we are seeing more of them.

The culprit, according to weather.com?  All the rain that we had this Spring.

It was the 2nd warmest Spring on record for the U.S.  The dirt was kept wet and warm which is the perfect breeding ground for fireflies.

New Hampshire Rainfall in May of 2025

According to WMUR, New Hampshire had an average of 8.73 inches in May, which was the third wettest month on record since records were kept in 1868.

If you ask anybody, they will tell you that almost every Saturday was raining.  Some weekends, it was both Saturday and Sunday.  We had to mow the lawns during the week this Spring.

So yes, it was wet this Spring, hence the reason for the fireflies.

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How to See More Fireflies in New Hampshire

If you have not seen fireflies, you might want to try these three things:

1. Turn off your outdoor lights.  It's the same rule applies for seeing the stars.  Less manmade light, more of natures lights.
2. Let your grass grow.  Fireflies live and breed in high grass, so leave that mower in the shed.
3. Avoid pesticides.

Did you ever try to catch fireflies in a jar when you were young?  I did and I thought they were magical.  I couldn't believe it when I saw them glow with my own eyes.

I have to say, I was looking for the silver lining to all that rain we got in the Spring and this is definitely one of them.  Turn off those lights and let them be natures fireworks.