Invasive spotted lanternflies have started to appear again in Ohio, and they don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Brian Baldridge, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, anticipates the summer season will see significant numbers of spotted lanternflies since there hasn’t been a decrease in population previously.
The pest feeds on the trunks and branches of plants, specifically grapevines, black walnut saplings and tree-of-heaven. The insect produces an excretion called honeydew that contributes to the growth of black sooty mold which harms plants.
The spotted lanternfly is an insect native from Asia that was first identified in Ohio in 2020. Currently, Ohio is under a statewide quarantine to hinder the pests’ impact on harvesting industries like vineyards, timber, orchards and hop yards. The quarantine requires inspections of regulated plant material leaving and arriving in the state to prevent infestations.
The “hitchhikers,” as Baldridge referred to them, started in eastern Pennsylvania where it is predicted the spotted lanternfly hopped onto trains, causing outbreaks in areas close to railways.
“They will jump on vehicles, whatever kind of vehicle…check your vehicle before you go back home wherever that's at in Ohio and making sure, you're not being, you know, a host as a vehicle taking one of the spotted lanternflies back to local community,” Baldridge said.
Eggs begin to hatch in April, then closer to June, they grow into the nymph stage. The young nymphs can be identified by their black body and legs with white spots. In their final immature stage, they are black and red with white spots. The nymphs are wingless but will quickly jump if disturbed. The adults gain maturity in late June and are known for their black speckled bodies and bright red wings.
Ashley Leach, a professor of specialty crop entomology at Ohio State, has worked with the pest previously in Pennsylvania where she assisted her sister’s on-farm research in 2019. She said it was devastating to see the effects of the insect as initial studies showed hundreds coating the branches of grape vines.
“You’re just sitting there going, well, this is not gonna be a good look as this moves west. Especially knowing that, you know, we're moving into the Midwest where, yes, Ohio is a big producer of wine,” Leach said.
Leach described spotted lanternflies like people with our favorite foods — we want to stay and keep eating it. The pests frequent another invasive species of the tree-of-heaven plant which harms the growth of surrounding local vegetation. There has been promise in ongoing efforts to remove tree-of-heaven plants with fungal spray that targets the plant, Leach said, but if done incorrectly, it could bring the plant back stronger.
Efforts to combat the spotted lanternfly have continued this year. In March, the Ohio Department of Agriculture launched a grant program to support local efforts to control SLF populations. More than $65,000 went to fund projects around the state to remove tree-of-heaven plants, herbicide and insecticide treatments, egg mass removal and community engagement.
Leach hates the question, “How do I make the spotted lanternfly stop?” She said that's going to be hard because of the way people travel.
“Humans are moving and spotted lanternfly is hitching a ride. So, it's going to be, I think, very tricky, in order, to outright stop their movement,” Leach said. “But I think it's being thoughtful about where they're probably going to be headed next and how we can mitigate those populations. Not eliminate, but I like mitigate better.”
If you spot adult or nymph-stage spotted lanternflies, community members can disrupt their populations in a variety of ways, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture:
- Remove invasive host plants, like tree-of-heaven
- Destroy egg masses with rubbing alcohol
- Swat or stomp nymphs and adults
- Apply low-toxicity insecticide.
- Regularly check vehicles for the insect
When the insect reaches its adult stage, Baldridge said, they are much more noticeable, however, if people know what to look for, you can see the young stages of life.