Spotted Lanternfly Treatments

Spotted lanternflies are a relatively new species to this area. That doesn’t mean we aren’t ready for them! We know they will lay their eggs on any flat vertical surface including the trees, stones, vehicles, outdoor furniture, and even swing sets around your home. We also know they aren’t very strong flyers which means the chance of a spotted lanternfly flying into your head is a real thing. While they don’t bite or sting, they are a nuisance and can seriously ruin your outdoor experience. So, a spotted lanternfly infestation can be quite a problem, making you call for spotted lanternfly treatment around your home. Our treatment strategies include every stage of spotted lanternfly life from egg to mature adult.

Spotted lanternfly damage comes mostly from the honeydew they leave behind as they feed. This sweet, stick excretion not only can create sooty mold if left alone, but it will also attract the pests that enjoy eating sweet items like this including stinging pests, ants, and aphids. If you have a large spotted lanternfly infestation, the amount of honeydew they will excrete can make it look like rain coming off the leaves of the trees and cover the ground underneath.

While the favorite meal for the spotted lanternfly is the tree-of-heaven, they will feed on the sap of about 70 plants that we have identified. That list could grow, but right now it includes grapevines, fruit trees like plums, nectarines, and peaches, ornamental plants, and hops just to mention a few.

Female spotted lanternflies tend to lay their eggs during September. The eggs are laid in egg masses set in rows which they cover with their excretion to protect the eggs from the elements over the colder months. They can’t protect against scraping, though. That’s why it’s so important to scrape those egg masses away and crush any eggs inside them. It’s much easier to kill spotted lanternfly eggs than after they have already hatched. A female spotted lanternfly can create up to 3 egg masses in their lifetime and each egg mass can hold up to 50 eggs. That’s a solid 150 spotted lanternflies you can scrape away.

Look for the spotted lanternfly egg masses on just about any surface including the slide on your kid’s swing set and because of the protective covering, can survive even a Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, or Delaware winter. We know where to look to help with spotted lanternfly egg masses.

Once those egg masses hatch, they move on to the nymph stage. They are not as noticeable to the naked eye since at this point, they do not have their signature red wings. The red comes as they mature into adults, but they are eating and messing up plants with their excretions the whole time. So by the time you see the red, who knows how much damage they have done. With a life expectancy at about a year, that can be a destructive and nuisance-filled year.

We’re passionate about controlling spotted lanternflies because we live and work here – it’s our neighborhood, too. With our almost 100 years of experience keeping homes and businesses in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania safe from pests, Western has the experience you can trust.