Spotted lanternfly reports surge statewide with confirmed cases in Allegheny County

In just seven months, reports of the invasive and grotesque spotted lanternfly jumped 147% statewide. Confirmed cases in Allegheny County are creeping up in Swissvale, Avalon and some Pittsburgh neighborhoods, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

The moth-like insect from China and Southeast Asia that hit the state in 2014 can cause an estimated $324 million in damages annually to fruit, ornamental and other trees, and woody plants, according to Penn State University.

While the lanternfly’s sticky honeydew droppings coat cars and lawn furniture in the Philadelphia area, Allegheny County and the western part of the state have been spared. Then, earlier this year, egg masses were found in Allegheny and Beaver counties.

“In Allegheny County with small localized areas, this is the only time where eradication is possible,” said Heather Leach, an extension associate with Penn State’s Department of Entomology, whose full focus is to deal with the lanternfly invasion.

Residents should identify, document, kill and save the insect for future confirmation, said Leach and Shannon Powers, press secretary for the state Department of Agriculture.

Statewide, from Jan. 1 through July 31, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture received 41,329 reports from the public of spotted lanternflies, which has accelerated quickly from the same time period last year when the agency received 16,747 reports, Powers said.

There were 54 reports made by the public of the spotted lanternfly in Allegheny County from Jan. 2020 through July 31. Of those 54 reports that the state followed up on, four sightings were confirmed, and of the 14 reports in Beaver County was confirmed.

“Teams of PA Dept. of Agriculture and USDA inspectors follow up on every report in newly quarantined counties and outside the quarantine, treating confirmed sightings as appropriate,” Powers said.

There are a lot of false negatives, but that is all right, she said.

Additionally, the inspectors are surveying for the invasive insect in newly quarantined counties, such as Allegheny and Beaver counties, and outside the quarantined counties to check for evidence of the insect’s spread, Powers said.

Leech said the most important thing the public can do is to be on the lookout for the insect, to photograph and to kill it. “Doing your part in Allegheny County is much less involved than doing your part in Montgomery County, where backyards are completely inundated with lanternfly,” she said.

The lanternfly, which are in the adult state now, are large, about an inch long. The brightly colored insect can jump, especially when startled.

If they are present, lanternflies will be active looking for mates and places to lay eggs. The egg masses look like mud splashed on trees and other surfaces. The adults will die in the first hard freeze.

To report the lanternfly, call the hotline 1-888-422-3359 or visit Penn State Extension’s spotted lanternfly website.