Spotted Lanternflies aren’t quite as insidious as the Emerald Ash Borer, but that doesn’t mean you want them in your yard! This invasive species feeds on several species of trees and shrubs including certain types of Maples, Willows, Birches, Japanese Snowbell, and Ailanthus trees. They leave behind a sticky substance called honeydew that makes a mess of your yard, attracts other insects, and causes mold to grow on your trees. If you have a Spotted Lanternfly infestation, you might be counting down the days until winter, but unfortunately, colder weather is only a temporary respite from these destructive insects.
The Spotted Lanternfly Lifecycle
So when do Spotted Lanternflies die? The good news is that the adults die in winter, but the bad news is that the eggs they lay will last through the winter and hatch when warmer weather returns.
Every summer, Adult Lanternflies mate and then lay eggs. Although Lanternflies lay these eggs on a variety of outdoor surfaces, you’re unlikely to notice them since they have a coating on them that looks like mud. The next spring, these eggs hatch, and the black and white nymphs soon turn into 1-inch long adults with red, white, black, and beige patterns on their wings. These adults then mate, lay eggs, and the cycle continues…until you break it.
Spotted Lanternfly Treatment
There are two ways to break the Spotted Lanternfly cycle: either the trees in your yard die and the insects move onto another property, or you hire an arborist for Spotted Lanternfly Treatment. (You can also remove and destroy egg masses manually before they hatch, but if there are Lanternflies in your neighborhood, that might only make a small dent in the problem!)
Left untreated, Spotted Lanternflies will weaken your trees, shortening their lifespans and making them vulnerable to other pests and diseases. When you hire a Certified Arborist to take care of your Spotted Lanternfly problem, you can rest assured that you’ll be rid of these pests and the damage they cause for good.
We recommend regular tree inspections to catch Spotted Lanternfly infestations at their earliest stages before they begin to seriously impact the health of your trees. Arborists have the training and education to identify Spotted Lanternflies at any stage in their lifecycle.
At Rick’s Plant Health Care, we use a treatment process that is recognized by the US Department of Agriculture as the most effective available. This proven approach involves injecting an insecticide called Dinotefuran directly into the trunks of infested trees. As the Spotted Lanternflies feed, the insecticide kills them, breaking their lifecycle. For smaller trees, we deliver the insecticide via a bark spray, which is safer than trunk injections for younger trees. You’ll begin to see results in as little as 24 hours.
Schedule a Consultation With Our Certified Arborist
Do you have Spotted Lanternflies attacking the trees in your yard? Are there Spotted Lanternflies in your area and you’d like to set up regular tree inspections with our Certified Arborist to ensure that your trees stay healthy? Contact Rick’s Plant Health Care today to schedule a consultation for our Spotted Lanternfly treatment services.