Tips for getting rid of the invasive lanternfly

To slow the scourge of the invasive lanternfly, state experts weigh in on the many ways to kill the nectar-loving, honeydew-dropping pests.

“The only good spotted lanternfly is a dead one,” said Amy K. Korman, an entomologist for 40 years and a horticulture extension educator with the Penn State Extension that covers Northampton and Lehigh counties.

Lanternflies feed on tree sap, and their droppings, known as honeydew, are high in sugar, which sometimes causes a black fungus to grow.

“The fungi mold is not harmful but will cover a leaf on a plant, and it could die back,” Korman said. “If you have a favorite tree hanging over the side of the deck, all of the crap, literally, will fall on your deck and could build up into a sooty mold that is hard to clean off.”

Since the honeydew is high in sugar, its buildup can attract insects such as yellow jackets, Korman noted.

The main method to control spotted lanternflies in an area is not to move them around.

“People could help each other by not moving them around by not transporting egg masses attached to firewood or recreational vehicles or any hard surface where the egg masses were laid.”

Ways to kill spotted lanternflies, according to Korman:

• Colorful adults are easy to see: Just smush them.

• Obliterate the egg sacs: The egg mass looks like light grayish splotches of cement or mud and is about an inch long and three-quarters of an inch wide. Scrape, smash or squeeze the egg sacks.

• Professional help: For an invasion of hundreds or thousands of lanternflies, it’s best to hire a licensed professional who can apply the proper pesticide.

• Bug assault gun that uses table salt as a projectile: Insecticidal soap in a Super Soaker (water bazooka) works well when lanternflies are high in a tree.

• A garden hose can help knock them out of the tree to collect and smash later.

• Stalk them in the morning or evening when it is cooler and the lanternflies move more slowly.

• Wasp or hornet spray: “It can be effective but can be dangerous and toxic to other things,” Walsh said. “You don’t want it raining down on you, your children and pets.”

• Death by woodpeckers and other birds and wildlife: You might want to consider suet for the woodpeckers. Red-bellied woodpeckers and praying mantises eat the insects. Penn State is studying wildlife that feeds on the lanternflies.