Spotted lanternflies to emerge soon across Conn.
The muffled thuds of small objects hitting against buildings and flashing streaks of red, black and white have been commonplace in Connecticut for the past few summers as spotted lanterflies have become a nuisance in the state, eating crops and littering the ground.
The lanternflies, which are currently in their egg stage, will begin to emerge as nymphs in May, according to Claire Rutledge, Associate Agricultural Scientist for the Department of Entomology at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES).
Lanternfly quarantine extended
CAES announced the extension of its Order of Quarantine for spotted lanternflies (SLF) earlier this year, which will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2024. The order, which was first enacted in July 2021, was issued in the efforts of “eradicating infestations of spotted lanternfly in regulated areas.”
According to DEEP, “the purpose of this quarantine is to slow the spread of SLF within the state and provide for certification of Connecticut businesses for movement of regulated articles out of state and help protect the economic interests of the state’s agricultural industries by suppressing, controlling, or eradicating infestations of spotted lanternfly in regulated areas, and provide by inspection or compliance agreement methods to permit the movement of regulated articles not infested with spotted lanternfly.”
Rutledge said that the mission of the quarantine is to “slow down” the spread of lanternflies, even though they’ve ingrained themselves in most parts of Connecticut. “The longer it takes to get there, the more time we have to prepare and get ready, and come up with new ideas with how to deal with it,” Rutledge said.
So far, the lanternfly patterns for 2024 are similar to last year, when the state experienced an influx in lanternfly sightings. CAES has not heard of any early sightings of lanternflies so far this year, but implores people to become vigilant before the bugs become “active.”
“Last year was the first year that we hit levels that people
really noticed. I suspect it will be similar this summer. It just might just be a little more widespread geographically where we get people really noticing,” Rutledge said.
Since the species is “transitory,” Rutledge said that “it’s possible that the areas that saw the heaviest last year will not see the heaviest this year.”
“They move a lot,” Rutledge added.
How to stop the spread of spotted lanternflies
In order to get ahead of the emergence this spring, CAES is advising residents to remove egg masses when spotted. Eggs are yellowish-brown in color on the inside, and gray and clay-like on the exterior. Egg masses looked cracked on the surface. Lanternfly egg masses are typically between two and three inches in length, and can be found on trees, bricks, stones and dead plants. Egg masses should be scraped into a plastic bag filled with hand sanitizer and squashed, Rutledge said.
Another way to help curb lanternfly populations is by removing tree of heaven, an invasive plant species, from properties. According to Rutledge, these plants act as the primary host for lanternflies, and removing them can help lower their longevity and also force them to produce less eggs. However, Rutledge advised for homeowners to not “be quick for the pesticides.”
Aside from impacting crops, such as soft fruits, lanternflies do not affect humans and while they may be a “nuisance,” “they’re not any more of a problem than say, aphids,” Rutledge said.
“The main agricultural concern and economic concern for these guys is vineyards because they do love grapes and they will stay on grapes for a long time,” Rutledge added. “It a serious pest and we would like to get rid of it.”
Lanternfly sightings can be reported via a form on the CAES website.