5 Ways to Protect Your Yard From Spotted Lanternflies

If you’ve already encountered a few or a group of spotted lanternflies in your yard, you may need to take extra steps to protect your yard since this invasive pest can damage the ecosystem around them.

We’ve broken down everything you need to know about the spotted lanternfly for the 2024 season and highlighted five effective ways to prevent and get rid of it.

What Are Spotted Lanternflies?

The spotted lanternfly is a non-native, invasive pest that was first identified in Virginia in 2018. Since then, it’s been making its way across the United States. 

You can find spotted lanternflies if you’re in one of the following states: West Virginia, Virginia, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Indiana, Delaware, or Connecticut.

The spotted lanternfly has a bright red body covered by translucent white wings with black dots. They can grow up to one inch long during adulthood. 

Though they’re completely harmless to humans, their real damage might be to your property. They feed on dozens of different tree species, boring tiny holes in the wood to suck out its sap. With enough damage, this can significantly injure any tree. 

But that’s not all the harm a spotted lanternfly can cause. As they feed, their excretions attract other pests. The excretion also grows fungus. Once the tree has grown fungus, it can have trouble photosynthesizing. The fruit may taste bad, the tree may not grow, and it’s also more likely to fall victim to even more pests and tree diseases in the future.

Lanternflies are expected to continue making their way west over the next few years if their spread is not stopped. They’re especially problematic because of how quickly they’re able to move throughout the states. Though the U.S. is doing its best to eradicate the spotted lanternfly as much as possible, there are still some things you need to look out for to prevent this pest from attacking your property. 

Ready to save your trees from being invaded? Here are five effective methods that have been proven to effectively work to get rid of spotted lanternflies.

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Soap Spray Method

To remove spotted lanternflies from trees they’re attempting to invade, you can spray them with a mixture of soap and water. The goal is to make the mixture as soapy as possible, or else they’ll just dry off and continue attacking your trees.

This is most effective for small plants, young trees, and shorter tree types. You can make it more effective for taller trees by using a spray nozzle or hose attachment. Too much soap on your plants can harm them, so avoid spraying leaves too regularly. 

Vinegar Method

You can also use white vinegar to protect your plants from spotted lanternflies (as well as other pests). Spraying the vinegar directly on the lanternflies can also kill them. It’s best to spray the vinegar directly without diluting it, or else it won’t be as effective.

Unfortunately, this can harm the leaves of some plants, so check to make sure the varieties you’re spraying won’t be damaged. 

Neem oil

If you want to protect your plants from attracting spotted lanternflies, you can also try using neem oil. Not only is neem oil good for your plants, but many pests find the smell deterring. This will prevent spotted lanternflies and other garden pests from feasting on your plants.

Remove Trees of Heaven

One of the main preferred species of tree for the spotted lanternfly to target is the Tree of Heaven or the Ailanthus tree. This tree is commonly found in the same states the lanternfly lives in, and it’s their favorite variety to eat. Believe it or not, one of the preferred ways to get rid of spotted lanternflies is to remove all Ailanthus trees from your property.

These trees are actually incredibly invasive and non-native to the U.S., so you can remove them without any guilt. 

Search for Lanternfly Eggs

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture also recommends searching for spotted lanternfly eggs in autumn and winter. They look like gray masses—or dried mud—on trees. Once you find them, you can scrape them off with a sharp object. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recommends scraping them into a jar of hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol to ensure the eggs cannot hatch on the ground. 

To learn more about other methods and effective pest controls for your trees, you can check out the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s official website. Fortunately, these methods have all been proven to work effectively against the spotted lanternfly.