They sure look pretty with their red wings and white spots, but the invasive Spotted Lanternfly is multiplying again this year throughout Bucks County, with egg masses in clusters of 30-50 eggs overwintering on trees and flat surfaces.
While you may hate finding dozens of emergent lanternflies crawling on your windshield in the coming months, the threat is greater to our environment. Mature lanternflies chow down on 70 different plant species, with a preference for grapevines and maple, walnut, birch and willow trees.
The best time to cut the population is while egg masses are still on trees. They look like a gray smear of mud with a waxy covering. While the egg masses may be on trees, they can also be found on any solid, flat surface, like stones and outdoor furniture. You can scrape the egg masses into a plastic bag, add a bit of rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer, smoosh the eggs inside the bag and dispose it. Simply scraping the egg masses to the ground will not work.
Penn State has many resources and tips for reducing and managing lanterflies.