Most pesticides will kill them, and they are easy to catch and smash. They also die easily when heat or frost arrives. The most aggressive and effective way to stop their spread is to remove one of their favorite food sources: the tree of heaven, which is also an invasive plant, Professor Urban said.
The lanternflies’ best defense is in their ability to reproduce. They breed in huge numbers, laying 30 to 50 eggs at a time. Their eggs, which can be laid virtually anywhere, including on trees, trucks and the tops of railroad cars, take eight months to hatch, Professor Urban said.
“That gives them time to be transported via humans’ travel,” she said.
Despite its name, the lanternfly is a plant-hopper, not a fly. It first appeared in the United States in September 2014, most likely from China, Professor Urban said.
The insects were spotted on imported stone at a landscape supply…
