Your email address will not be published. This is a blog with nature photography, biology-related projects, & geeky tips. Capture them in a bottle. You should also locate any tree-of-heaven trees in your neighborhood and beg owners to kill them. There are over 65 known species of plants that the SLF will feed on, including ornamental trees (like lilac and dogwood), fruit trees, vines (like grapes), small fruits (such as blueberries), hops, and several vegetables. Spotted Lanternfly Eggs are grey or brown globby 2-4″ smears on trees, cement blocks, rocks, cars, houses, barbecue grills – any hard surface. Nymphs can also be controlled by spraying them with Ortho® Home Defense® Insect Killer for Lawn & Landscape Concentrate and Ready-To-Spray. A typical homeowner (I include myself) is not in a position to apply pesticides safely and in an environmentally-responsible way. Penn State has a good summary of using sticky traps. You’d just end up killing all the pollinators and fireflies in your yard, plus pollute local streams. Dawn soap 10. Here are some photographs to give you a search image (click to enlarge): To kill a tree-of-heaven you need to chop it down and then treat stump with herbicide (instructions). I’m going to buy some Beauveria bassiana from Amazon for the 2020 season, just for giggles. Chinese mantids are invasive and mainly eat butterflies (even monarchs, even hummingbirds). The female spotted lanternfly secretes a white foam substance to cover her eggs. There are 5 steps that need to be taken to help control and prevent the spread of spotted lanternfly. Remember, if you live in a quarantined county in PA, the wood cannot be removed from the quarantined area. I see them as especially valuable in killing the adults that are high up in branches, out of the range of your vacuum. Indigenous to China and Vietnam, the Spotted Lanternfly was first discovered in Berks County, Pennsylvania and has recently been found in New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and New York. To prevent the SLF from damaging other plants on your property, only remove about 90% of the host trees and use the remaining 10% as “trap trees” so you can control the adult SLFs. From late spring to early fall watch for dark streaks of sap flowing down the bark of trees. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. They are covered in a mud-like secretion that helps them stay glued to a surface in a mass. If you can’t stomach the sound and the goo, an alternative is to scrape the eggs into a container filled with a fluid such as alcohol or hand sanitizer, or into a container or bag that can be sealed and thrown in the trash. PRO-TIP: as the egg cases weather the eggs beneath the waxy substance sometimes become more visible. The adults prefer to feed primarily on the non-native host plant “tree of heaven” (Allianthus altissima) while the immature stages (or nymphs) will feed on a wide range of trees, fruits, and even grape vines. The spotted lanternfly favors an invasive plant as a its food source, the Ailanthus, which is also native to Asia. The next generation overwinters as eggs while the adults die in late fall. Bug-A-Salt gun 7. Airsoft gun: Don’t get one of these if you have kids. 6. Spotted lanternflies will feed on a variety of host plants from May through November, and their feeding preferences change as they mature. Learn how your comment data is processed. Pathogenic fungi (?) It is a type of planthopper that belongs to the Order Hemiptera (cicadas, leafhoppers, and aphids). Pathogenic fungi: There are at least two fungi (Beauveria bassiana and Batkoa major) that seem to infect spotted lanternfly, so it might be possible to coat them with a powder or a spray and watch them slowly die. As motivation, remember that each egg case has 20-50 eggs, and they are much easier to kill than 20-50 nymphs. Bug-A-Salt rifle: I don’t own one of these, sadly, so I can’t absolutely guarantee it will work. The spotted lanternfly (SLF) (Lycorma delicatula) is a destructive invasive pest native to China, India, Vietnam, and eastern Asia that was first detected in eastern Pennsylvania in September 2014.Since then, it has also been found in New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The egg masses can be scraped off surfaces using a knife or a thin plastic card. Immature nymphs are black with white spots, and they gain red markings at they mature through the 4th instar. Electric flyswatter: I own one of these and they work really well on large flies so I don’t see why they wouldn’t work on spotted lanternfly nymphs. The spotted lanternfly resembles a moth when it jumps or flies, but in reality, it is neither a fly nor a moth. The nymphs then enter a repeat cycle of going up and down host trees as they go through their 4 instar stages. The second is that some tapes are so sticky that they’ll easily trap birds (and squirrels, snakes, and bats) so you MUST cover the band with chicken wire. Cordless stick vacuum: A long extension arm of a stick vacuum is ideal for reaching into vegetation. Insecticides 9. 5. ... That leads to mold and rot, which kills the plant. Control the nymphs. Emelie Swackhamer . And it’s touted as being safe for other insects because few other insects eat the foliage. Since then, it has also been found in New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. Please remember that all sightings of spotted lanternfly adults, nymphs, and egg masses should be reported to your local university extension or state plant regulatory official.