Expert urges battle against invasive pest
Tired of trying to step on spotted lanternflies? Do you think your efforts are a waste of time?
Tina Ehrig, Penn State master gardener of Berks County, with the Penn State Extension in Leesport, said everyone’s efforts are needed throughout the entire year to limit the spread of the invasive insect.
About 50 people attended the public information program she presented in Amity Township on Oct. 3.
Many expressed anger and frustration of the apparent futility of the infestation,
Some said they have killed thousands of spotted lanternflies this year with little to no abate-
ment on the number of insects.
Spotted lanternflies have been spotted in Amity Township since 2014.
Ehrig said spotted lanternflies are currently laying eggs on trees and other hard surfaces such as decks, houses, outdoor equipment, and rocks.
She said people should be proactive now by finding and destroying egg masses.
Each egg mass contains 30 to 50 eggs that will hatch next May and June.
The egg masses, which look like a mound of putty or mud, can be scraped off with a credit card or a putty knife.
They should then be deposited into a bag or container filled with isopropyl alcohol or hand sanitizer, which will kill the eggs.
Eggs that are allowed to hatch next spring will become adult spotted lanternflies by July, feeding off of the trees of ailanthus and other hardwood and fruit trees.
“Get in the habit of scraping eggs. Ten million eggs can be killed with a 10 minute walk [in the woods].”
Ehrig said the “sap sucking” insects will ultimately kill fruit trees, grapes, and hops.
“Our area’s grapes are at risk, and Berks County has wonderful vineyards,” said Ehrig.
“How do we [eradicate the insect] without interfering with wine quality?”
“We don’t know the impact of spotted lanternflies on the hardwoods, but fruit production is at risk.”
The spotted lanternflies was first spotted in Berks County in 2012, in Longswamp, District, and Rockland townships.
Since then, spotted lanternflies has spread to 13 counties in eastern Pennsylvania and is entering New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.
Beth Finlay, master gardener coordinator at the Penn State Extension, said Pennsylvania has received $19.1 million in federal and state money this year for the research, management, and monitoring of spotted lanternflies.
“The areas where spotted lanternflies were two years ago, there are hardly any there now,” said Ehrig, adding, “do they reach a peak and then they sharply decrease?”
Until the spotted lanternflies have left southeastern Pennsylvania, Ehrig said people should employ all five steps of spotted lanternfly management: Stop the spread (by checking your vehicle before leaving a quarantined area), scrape eggs (from now until early spring), band trees (with giant fly traps sold at hardware stores) to catch nymphs, remove the spotted lanternflies’ preferred host — the tree-of-heaven (ailanthus), and apply insecticides.
Spotted lanternflies literature available from extension.psu.edu, states that tree banding will kill nymphs that hatch in the spring.
“When the nymphs first hatch, they will walk up the trees to feed on the softer new growth of the plant. Take advantage of this behavior by wrapping tree trunks in sticky tape and trapping the nymphs.”
“Adult spotted lanternflies will avoid tape, so it is essential to band trees in the spring when there are nymphs.”
Any tree can be banded, but Penn State Extension recommends specifically banding tree-of-heaven, or trees where you see a lot of egg masses.
Ehrig said giant fly traps can be cut into three separate strips, providing additional applications.
Duct tape can also be wrapped backward around a tree and secured with push pins.
If removing tree-ofheaven from a property, Ehrig recommends leaving one as a trap tree and using system insecticides (either applied professionally or by consumers) on that tree to kill spotted lanternflies.
The “Spotted Lanternfly Management for Homeowners,” pamphlet from the Penn State Extension, explains the various chemical controls.
They include contact insecticides, as well as tree injection and bark sprays (applied by professional applicators), and soil drench and foliar sprays (can be applied by homeowners).
“Systemic insecticides are absorbed by the tree through sprayed leaves, roots, and or woody tissue, and are moved by its vascular system to other parts of the tree.”
“Spotted lanternflies are killed as they feed on any part of the tree, even if it was not sprayed directly. Systemic insecticides work best when applied in the spring and early summer, before the more mobile adults emerge.”
Other key pieces of literature from the Penn State Extension are the “Spotted Lanternfly Management Calendar,” and the “Invasive Weeds Fact Sheet — Tree-of-Heaven.”
Ehrig said the Penn State Extension doesn’t recommend spraying Dawn dish liquid mixed with water on spotted lanternflies.
“Dawn kills plants, and we don’t want Dawn loose in the environment.”
“The research is out there. We can’t give you any more information than what we have,” said Ehrig, adding, “It’s in the hands of the private individual. We have to stand up and fight it ourselves.”