What Are Spotted Lanternflies?

Native to China, Vietnam, and Taiwan, spotted lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula) are invasive insects that feed on plant sap. The first confirmed sighting of spotted lanternflies in the United States occurred in Pennsylvania in 2014. Since then, lanternflies have spread quickly throughout the East Coast and into the Midwest. They pose a significant threat to a variety of trees and plants, including food crops like grapes, hops, and apples.

Adults measure about 1 inch long and they have a distinctive look with bright red underwings and beige to mauve-colored forewings ornamented with black polka-dots. These insects are not strong fliers and they generally spread by hitching a ride or laying eggs on cars and other items that are transported between countries or across state lines.

Spotted Lanternfly Life Cycle

Lanternfly females commonly lay eggs in September on their favorite host plants, the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima). They will also lay eggs on the bark of other trees, as well as cars, cement walls, and other hard surfaces.

Lanternfly eggs look a bit like lichen or dried blobs of grayish-brown mud. They stay dormant through the winter before hatching into lanternfly nymphs in spring. Wingless and spotted in black and white, lanternfly nymphs feed on plant sap through early summer and become increasingly red in color before they turn into adult lanternflies in mid-summer to fall, and the lifecycle repeats.

If you spot lanternflies in your area, report sightings to your state agricultural department to help with tracking the pests' presence and spread.

Signs of Spotted Lanternfly Infestations

With their bright colors and bold spots, lanternflies are relatively conspicuous pests. During the day, you may find adults clustering at the base of infested plants or you may spot them crawling up and down tree trunks in the evening or after dark. However, even if you don’t see the bugs on your property, you may have a lanternfly issue if you notice any of these signs:

Honeydew and sooty mold. Like many other pests, spotted lanternflies often leave a sticky honeydew residue on infested plants. Dark patches of sooty mold may develop on top of this honeydew, which can impair photosynthesis, causing plant stunting and reduced food crop yields.

Wilting and plant death. Heavily infested plants may start to wilt, develop leaf curl, and eventually die back.

Oozing. Trees and plants may weep sap from wounds or feeding sites along their trunks or stems. This sap often has a fermented odor, which can attract other pests.

Egg clusters. Brownish-gray deposits of lanternfly eggs may be found on infested tree trunks, but they can also appear on other hard surfaces, like plant pots, lawn furniture, rocks, and lawnmowers.

Always check your car for lanternfly eggs before leaving heavily infested areas and only purchase plants and garden materials from reliable, local plant nurseries.

How to Get Rid of Spotted Lanternflies

Preventing the spread of lanternflies is of critical importance because these pests are difficult to eradicate once they invade. Use these natural treatment methods to remove adult lanternflies, nymphs, and eggs.

Lanternflies are particularly drawn to the tree of heaven, which they use as a host plant for their young. If you want to prevent lanternflies, familiarize yourself with tree of heaven plants and make sure to remove these plants if they're growing on your property. Like the lanternflies that love them, tree of heaven can be difficult to remove, but repeated cutting, girdling, or hand-pulling can keep these plants from regrowing.

Tackle Eggs

The best way to limit the spread of lanternflies is to remove lanternfly eggs before they hatch in spring. Fall and winter is the perfect time to check tree trunks and other hard surfaces for lanternfly eggs. If you spot them, scrape the eggs off with a flat-edged tool, like the edge of an old credit card or spackling knife. Then crush, burn, or drop the eggs into a container filled with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer.

Handpick and Vacuuming

Because lanternflies don’t sting or bite, you can safely pick small infestations of lanternflies off infested trees and crush them by hand or drop them into a bucket of soapy water. However, for larger infestations, it’s usually easier to remove lanternflies with a shop vac. Just keep in mind that these pests can survive the vacuuming process, so you may want to pop your vacuum bag in the freezer or wait a day or two before cleaning out your vacuum.

Try a Spray

White or apple cider vinegar sprays kill lanternflies on contact, but you can also use neem oil, organic insecticidal soap sprays, and diatomaceous earth to treat lanternfly infestations. These products can all harm pollinators, though, and vinegar sprays can damage plants too. To limit issues, never use sprays during the heat of the day, keep sprays and diatomaceous earth away from flowers that pollinators visit, and don’t use vinegar sprays on plants that you value.

To make your own DIY soap spray, mix ¼ cup of Castile soap and one tablespoon of neem oil with 1 quart of water.

Use Sticky Bands

Sticky bands or traps can be installed around tree trunks to capture lanternflies as they venture up and down infested trees. However, these traps can prove hazardous to pollinators, songbirds, and other wildlife, so always install screening, plastic mesh, or chicken wire over the traps and secure these barriers with pushpins. Traps and bands can be removed at the end of the season and reinstalled in spring to give trees room to grow and prevent girdling.

Install a Circle Trap

Circle traps are safer to use around wildlife and they can be just as effective against lanternflies as sticky bands. These traps are typically constructed with fine mesh screening that funnels lanternflies upwards into a bag trap. You can purchase circle traps at garden centers or online, but you can also make a simple DIY trap using window screening, a plastic bag, a zip tie, and an upcycled milk jug top.

Attract Predators

Because lanternflies are not native to North America, they don’t have any natural predators. But native animals and insects have started to develop a taste for lanternflies and inviting these predators into your garden can help to keep lanternflies from getting out of hand. Backyard chickens can be recruited for lanternfly control, but you can also install bird feeders to attract songbirds or use companion planting to lure in predatory insects, like praying mantids, wheel bugs, spiders, and wasps.

Be Vigilant

No matter what pest control method you choose to use, consistency is key. Check plants often for lanternfly adults, eggs, and nymphs, and immediately remove any lanternflies you find. If you want to get rid of lanternflies even faster, use several of the above treatment methods at the same time. For example, handpicking works even better when combined with circle traps and organic sprays.