City Forester Ellen Roane and city Arborist Cody Legge secure a sticky band spotted lanternfly trap on a tree at Italian Lake Park in Harrisburg.
With summer around the corner, one pesky insect is on its way too.
Spotted lanternflies will again descend on Harrisburg in the warmer months, feasting on trees and plants around the city. Ellen Roane, city forester, has some tips for dealing with them.
“They’re just a pest,” said Roane of the spotted, black, red and grey invasive fly.
The bugs, currently in egg form, will likely hatch toward the end of April and develop over the summer months into adult form by late June.
On Tuesday, Roane and city staff began placing traps along trees at Italian Lake Park in Uptown Harrisburg, with plans to do the same at other city parks, such as Reservoir Park in Allison Hill.
According to Roane, the insects are attracted to trees like the tree of heaven, red maple, black walnut, silver maple and willow, among others. The flies will feast on these trees, often leaving behind a sticky honeydew secretion, prone to growing black mold.
While spotted lanternflies are not known to kill trees directly, they can weaken them over time, especially small trees. They can also cause damage to grape vines and other produce plants. Other than that, the bugs are mainly a nuisance, Roane described, as sometimes hundreds may cover a tree, but they are not harmful to people.
Now through April is the best time to begin setting up traps on trees, and Roane has suggestions on the best way to catch the pests.
In the early spring and summer months, it’s best to set up a sticky band trap that will catch lanternflies in their nymph stage. This can be made by wrapping sticky paper around the trunk of a tree and securing a piece of screening around it so that other insects or animals, such as butterflies, squirrels and birds, don’t get caught.
Roane recommends using a roll of giant flypaper, cutting it in half to make about a 5-inch-wide band of paper to wrap around the tree. This paper can be purchased online. Then, measure a piece of mesh window screening that is double the circumference of the trunk. Secure the mesh over the sticky band using thumbtacks and pleating it so it doesn’t stick to the band.
In the later summer months, when lanternflies have reached their adult stage, Roane recommends using a circle trap, which can be purchased online or made using items like screening, small pieces of wood and a clear plastic bag.
City Forester Ellen Roane shows a circle trap to catch spotted lanternflies at Italian Lake.
After the flies hatch and feed on the upper branches of the tree, they will eventually fall off and try to climb back up, which both traps will attempt to stop.
Either trap must be replaced periodically, Roane advised.
Other ways to rid your environment of the pests could include stomping on them, using a systemic insecticide treatment for larger trees and scraping gray egg masses off trees and into alcohol to kill them. Each egg mass can contain 30 to 50 lanternfly eggs.
How bad will the spotted lanternfly infestation be this season?
It’s too soon to tell, Roane said. But through a few simple methods, residents can at least manage how many pests invade their yards and living spaces this summer.
To learn more about spotted lanternflies and how to create your own traps, visit the PennState Extension website.
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