Egg Mass Destruction

Destruction of spotted lanternfly egg masses can help prevent the spread of spotted lanternfly.  Eggs can be laid on any hard surface, including plastic, wood, and metal. Trees, rocks, fence posts, automobiles, trains, equipment, and more can harbor egg masses. With 30 – 50 eggs per egg mass, it’s important to inspect anything moving from an area that has an infestation to prevent the spread to a new location.

If you find egg masses:

  • Scrape egg masses using scraper cards, or anything else that is hard, tapered and/or flat.
  • Kill eggs by putting them into doubled bags, alcohol/hand sanitizer, or by smashing or burning them.
Spotted lanternfly eggs being scraped off a tree and into a jar of alcohol.
Spotted lanternfly eggs being scraped off a tree and into a jar of alcohol. Photo: PA Department of Agriculture.

Insecticides

All stages of spotted lanternfly have been shown susceptibility to the application of insecticides. Working with data developed by researchers at Penn State University, a number of insecticides have been labeled for use in New York provisionally through 2(ee) recommendations and 24(c) Special Local Needs labels. 

We have compiled a list of insecticides that can be used to manage spotted lanternfly in a variety of settings in NYS. A separate list was established specifically for insecticides useful to manage spotted lanternfly in grape production.

Wine grape growers in the quarantine zone in Pennsylvania have found that, while insecticides are effective against Spotted Lanternfly, the sheer numbers of this pest entering the vineyard have required multiple applications once adults begin flying in September. Frequent monitoring is important as the distribution in a vineyard can be uneven. Often insecticide treatments are only required for the vines on the margins of the fields.

Bark spray, trunk injections, or root drenches are used to get systemic insecticides into trees.

Tree trunk with numerous spotted lanternfly adults clinging to the bark. Many others pile at the base of the tree. Many adults have their wings spread, showing the red underwing.
Dead spotted lanternfly adults in PA after feeding on trees injected with the systemic insecticide, Dinotefuran. Notice spread "dino-wings". Photo: NYSIPM Staff.
Close-up of several spotted lanternfly adults on tree bark. Several SLF have their wings spread in response to the systemic insecticide, Dinotefuran.
Spotted lanternfly adults with their wings spread in response to the systemic insecticide, Dinotefuran. Photo: NYSIPM Staff.

Trap Trees

In the Pennsylvania quarantine zone there has been work done using tree of heaven as trap trees. Because tree of heaven has both male and female trees, the female trees are identified and removed to limit the spread of tree of heaven by seed. Males trees are then evaluated and thinned to a manageable number that will allow the remaining trees to be treated with a systemic insecticide. Any spotted lanternfly attracted to the trees will feed, ingest the insecticide, and die. Officials in New York are watching the implementation of this management tool closely to determine long term effects on the population. As of April 2019, we are not recommending the removal of tree of heaven as a management tool for a number of reasons. Tree of heaven is currently a valuable tool for monitoring of low-level populations. There are questions as to the need of tree of heaven in the life cycle of SLF and if removal of tree of heaven will send Spotted Lanternfly to other, more desirable plants. And most importantly, if tree of heaven is not properly removed, a single tree can turn into a grove of saplings as they can multiply via their root system. If tree of heaven is removed, a registered systemic herbicide should be used to limit regrowth.

See the Spotted Lanternfly IPM Management Calendar (PennState Extension) for management timing.

Diagram showing Trees of Heaven managed as trap trees, as described in the text above.
Trap trees: 1) Female TOH are removed, male TOH are thinned, and systemic insecticide applied to remaining male trees. 2) Spotted lanternflies feed on the treated male tree, and die after ingesting the insecticide. Image redrawn from illustration by E. Swackhamer and A. Corman.