Spotted lanternflies invasion
Spotted lanternflies are taking over. Here’s what you can do when you spot the invasive red bugs.
- Systemic insecticides for spotted lanternflies can harm pollinators.
- Physically remove spotted lanternfly egg masses before they hatch, around April 21.
Editor’s note: Throughout the growing season, Mike Hogan, OSU Extension educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Franklin County, will answer gardening and home landscape questions submitted by Dispatch readers. Send your questions to [email protected].
Question: During last year’s drought, my old sprinkler could not get my entire flower garden watered without moving the sprinkler several times each day. I would like to replace my old sprinkler and I’m wondering if there are large sprinklers which cover large areas.
Answer: The best way to water most plants, except turfgrass, is not to use overhead sprinklers at all. Overhead sprinklers can increase the spread of foliar diseases because they keep the foliage wet for long periods of time.
The most efficient way to water most plants is to deliver water to the soil at the base of the plant so that most of the moisture reaches the roots of the plant. This can be done by hand-watering with a garden hose or a watering can, but for large areas like your flower garden, consider using a soaker hose, which is nothing more than a garden hose with small holes in it to allow water to slowly drip out and thoroughly and deeply moisten the soil.
Small-drip irrigation systems complete with timers can also be used. Both of these items are available online and at area garden centers.
Be sure to water early in the morning before 10 a.m. to reduce the amount of soil moisture which will be evaporated during the hottest part of the day, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Q: We saw many spotted lanternflies on trees and berry bushes in our yard last summer. Can we treat these plants this spring to protect them from this insect?
A: There are some systemic insecticides labelled for spotted lanternfly control, including imidacloprid, but the problem is that systemic pesticides can be very dangerous to pollinators and beneficial insects.
Systemic pesticides are absorbed into the roots or bark of plants and move throughout the plant. When spotted lanternflies feed on a plant that contains a toxic level of a systemic insecticide, they will die.
Unfortunately, when other insects feed on a treated plant, they too will die. This is especially true when pollinators feed on the pollen or nectar of treated plants in bloom.
If you saw spotted lanternfly adults on plants in your landscape last summer, a safer ecological approach would be to inspect the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs in your landscape for the presence of egg masses left by this insect last fall. These egg masses can also be found on outdoor furniture, decks, utility poles, rocks, fence posts and buildings.
These egg masses look like blotches of dried mud spread on vertical surfaces. Each of these egg masses can contain up to 50 spotted lanternfly eggs. Finding and destroying these egg masses before they hatch can be a very effective control tool for the spread of this insect.
Based on the weather which we have experienced in Greater Columbus thus far this late winter and spring, spotted lanternfly egg masses will likely start hatching around April 21.
Egg masses can be scraped off surfaces with a paint scraper and placed in a plastic bag containing rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer, which will kill the eggs, or smashed and discarded in household trash.
For color photographs of spotted lanternfly egg masses and the insect at different life stages, go to go.osu.edu/SLF.
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