Sticky tape meant to snare lanternflies also catching birds and squirrels

Woodpeckers, squirrels and other animals are getting stuck on the sticky tape used to trap spotted lanternflies, prompting an outcry from animal rehabilitation centers and other nature groups.

Sticky bands are typically recommended by Penn State Extension to catch the invasive bugs and can be a tool to use against the small spotted lanternfly nymphs. But they can also inadvertently trap other animals, including birds, squirrels, bats, lizards and bees.

“Sticky bands are one of the worst ideas I’ve seen,” said Peter Saenger, an ornithologist at Muhlenberg College and the president of the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. “Tons of beneficial animals are potentially killed by those bands.”

Stuck animals often die, rehabilitation experts said.

It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s tough to see when it does, said Heather Leach, a Penn State spotted lanternfly extension associate.

“It sucks to see that, it’s really sad,” Leach said. “You really have to be aware of the risk of catching nontargets.”

That’s why Penn State Extension created a fact sheet to help people avoid catching other creatures, she said.

Penn State Extension’s website notes that the sticky band is the most effective trap for lanternflies, is easy to install and a nonchemical method of killing lanternflies.

Sticky bands should only be used on trees ? not bushes or vines ? where people can see lanternflies feeding or crawling.

Penn State Extension recommends trimming the band width down to a few inches, and wrapping the band in chicken wire but leaving it open on the bottom so lanternflies can still crawl on it but birds and squirrels won’t get caught running up and down the tree.

Some people also wrap paper or plastic around an infested tree and coat the band in petroleum jelly, which can trap the lanternflies but isn’t harmful to vertebrates, Leach said. Petroleum jelly can harm trees though, so keep it on the band.

Anyone who bands trees should check their bands regularly. If there is a mammal or bird stuck on the band, take the animal, with the band, to a rehabilitation facility. Don’t try to remove the animal from the sticky bands, experts said.

On Tuesday, a grey catbird and a cowbird were brought to the Philadelphia Metro Wildlife Center after getting caught in sticky bands. On Monday, someone brought in a California wren that got stuck.

Executive Director Rick Schubert said someone removed the birds from the sticky tape, pulling off feathers and skin in the process. Sometimes their limbs are also broken during removal.

Feather loss makes rehabilitation more difficult because the birds can’t be released until the feathers have grown back, Schubert said.

“When people just pull the bird straight off or spray it with oil, they don’t know what they’re doing and make it worse,” he said.

On Wednesday, Schubert said both birds brought in Tuesday had significant feather loss but no broken limbs.

Since 2018, the wildlife center has treated a host of animals caught on sticky paper, including two raptors, seven squirrels and 12 birds.

Peggy Hentz, the founder and a wildlife rehabilitator at Red Creek Wildlife Center in Schuylkill County, said the center treated 38 birds, a squirrel, a chipmunk and one snake that were caught on sticky tape in 2018. The mammals and snake survived, but the vast majority of the birds weren’t as lucky.

Leah Stallings, the executive director for the Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in New Britain Township, Bucks County, said about 90% of the animals die from getting torn off the tape. She’s seen primarily nuthatches, woodpeckers, flying squirrels and bats get stuck in the bands.

“Any animal that would use the tree as its highway is going to get stuck, and that glue is really sticky,” she said.

The animal’s attempts to free itself can actually trap it further. Sometimes the trapping and cleaning is so stressful the animals have to be euthanized, she said.

“I understand wanting to do something about the larva, but they have to come up with a better way,” she said.

She and Hentz recommended cutting the tape from the tree and freeing the animal with tape still attached, then covering it with a paper towel or putting it in a box to try to calm it down.

Then they should take the animal to a rehabilitation center so a professional can try to remove the tape.

Saenger, the ornithologist, said the problem is that birds are curious creatures who go for insects, so when they see the movement of a bunch of bugs caught on a sticky band, they’ll go right for it.

Once they’re stuck, their outlook is unpleasant, he said.

“Imagine being stuck in a spot, unable to move, so you get exhausted, you dehydrate and you starve to death,” he said. “It’s a slow, painful death.”

Spotted lanternflies were first discovered in Berks County in 2014. They can be found in 14 Pennsylvania counties, including Lehigh and Northampton, and have spread to other states. The bugs, which are native to parts of Asia, damage agricultural and other products by feeding on trees or vines and excreting a sticky substance that leads to mold.

Penn State Extension recommends using sticky bands from May to the beginning of November, although they’re most effective now, when the spotted lanternflies are still in a younger nymph stage, than later when they’re larger adults with wings. Some insecticides have also been found to be effective against the pests.

Morning Call reporter Michelle Merlin can be reached at 610-820-6533 or at mmerlin@mcall.com.