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spotted lanternfly control Archives - Catchmaster Pro

Mar 17
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Inspecting a Vehicle for the Spotted Lanternfly

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The Spotted Lanternfly

The spotted lanterfly (SLF) is an invasive pest and a threat to crops and trees and inspecting a vehicle for the pest is an important management technique.  Currently, the pest is infesting areas in the Northeastern United States.  However, it is a threat to spread to other areas.  Despite the name, the spotted lanternfly is not a strong flyer.   It most often hitchhikes to new areas. Therefore, when visiting an area infested with the spotted lanternfly, it is important to inspect your vehicle and stop the spread.  The following information will help to conduct a thorough inspection.

Life Cycle

Before leaving an SLF-infected area thoroughly inspect the vehicle and its contents for SLF.  It is important to become familiar with identifying the spotted lanternfly at the different stages of its life cycle. Depending upon the time of the year, look for SLF in egg masses, nymphs and adults.

  • Spring and Summer: nymphs and adult SLF
  • Fall: Adult SLF
  • Fall, Winter and Spring: Adult SLF and egg masses

Inspecting a Vehicle for the Spotted Lanternfly - Life Cycle

Inspecting a Vehicle for the Spotted Lanternfly – 5 tips for vehicle inspections

  1. Inspect the interior of the vehicle – thoroughly inspect the vehicle’s interior including any contents from the infested area.  In addition, look on the vehicle floor, seats and areas near doors and windows.
  2. Inspect the exterior of the vehicle – truck beds/caps – walk around the vehicle thoroughly checking hiding places along the vehicle.  Focus on truck beds/caps where SLF are prone to land.
  3. Check exterior hiding places – wheels wells & more – use a flashlight to check inside of the wheel wells, as this is a common hiding spot. If possible, consider looking on top of the vehicle for SLF that may have landed on the vehicle roof.
  4. Investigate dollies – don’t overlook equipment that may have been used to move pallets or other items. Inspect all sides of dollies or other moving equipment.
  5. Inspect pallets – pallets are particularly susceptible for infestation, use a flashlight and inspect all sides for SLF.

Inspecting a Vehicle for the Spotted Lanternfly - How to Spot

If the spotted lanternfly is found at any point in the life cycle, it is critical to kill live insects.  In short, if you see it, squash it.  In addition, it is recommended SLF egg masses are thoroughly smashed and scraped into a plastic bag.  Finally, the bag is sealed tight and disposed.

Bobby Kossowicz is a content creator for the Catchmaster® brand, learn more here: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/bobby-kossowicz/

Inspecting a Vehicle for the Spotted Lanternfly – Additional Resources

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Sign up for our mailing list here: https://catchmasterpro.com/join-email/

Looking for help with the spotted lanternfly?  Consider tree-banding with our TB series glue: https://catchmasterpro.com/product/tree-banding-glue/

Are you a PMP looking to get into the spotted lanternfly business?  Here are some helpful hints on getting started: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/spotted-lanternfly-control-services-101/

Finally, learn more from Penn State University here: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-management-for-homeowners

Sep 18
0

Spotted Lanternfly Control Services 101

By | Insects, spotted lanternfly, Tips & Inspirations | No Comments

Spotted lanternfly control 101

As a pest pro, spotted lanternfly control services can benefit your bottom line.  If you live in the northeastern part of the United States you have likely heard of the pest.  As a result,  you may be getting calls from concerned home and business owners. For instance, this invasive species has already caused twenty-two counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to go into quarantine.  It has been spotted in New York to the north and states as far south as Virginia. The pest poses a significant threat to our agriculture including grapes, apples, hops and hardwood industries.

spotted lanternfly map

If you are on the fence about offering spotted lanternfly control services, or have an interest but don’t know where to start, then this article is for you.  As the threat grows, your role as a pest professional will be more important than ever. Let’s take a closer look at getting started in spotted lanternfly control.

4 Tips to get you started in spotted lanternfly control

  1. Not familiar with tree-banding, no problem! Tree-banding creates an effective insect barrier – and you’ll be happy to know that you do not need to obtain any special licenses to offer tree-banding services for the spotted lanternfly.  Not sure how to tree-band?  Fortunately, we have you covered with detailed instructions in our Tree-Banding 101 one-pager. The process is very straightforward and simple.
  2. Market to those diamonds in your own backyard. If you live in a geographical area already impacted by the spotted lanternfly then you have a great base of customers to draw upon. Employ your usual marketing channels to notify customers of the threat and your additional service offering. We recommend both monitoring and control service options. Fortunately, tree-banding will allow you to do both.
  3. Become a part of the solution. Use digital channels to get the word out in your service area.  For example, you can utilize social media posts, e-mail blasts and dedicated portions of your website to educate the public about the importance of monitoring for the spotted lanternfly. Our Social Media Resource Library has lots of educational content free for your use.  As a result, you can help educate the public on the spotted lanternfly. For example, you could offer your expertise to your community through local newspapers and radio stations.  These organizations are often looking for local experts.
  4. Consider a free service in exchange for some advertising. Perhaps there is a local park in a downtown area or a sports field that gets lots of traffic in your service area. Consider offering free tree-banding to a select area of your town in exchange for some simple signage warning the public to be on the look out for the spotted lanternfly.  Get your brand out by placing yard signs in the area offering your services to monitor or control the pest.

how to spot a spotted lanternfly invasion

Act now!

Unfortunately, the spotted lanternfly will likely be a concern for some time to come.  Fortunately, is the time to get in the game and own your local market for tree-banding services.  By deploying some (or all!) of the tips above you can be well-positioned to grow your business.

Additional Resources

Learn more from Penn State University here: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-management-for-homeowners

Learn more about tree-banding with our Catchmaster® TB-1 glue here: https://catchmasterpro.com/product/tree-banding-glue/

Bobby Kossowicz is a content creator for the Catchmaster® brand, learn more here: https://catchmasterpro.com/blog/bobby-kossowicz/