Invasive spotted lanternfly spread continues in West Virginia: ‘Squash it immediately!’

ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — Forest Service and conservation officials in West Virginia and beyond are telling West Virginians to take a few steps to prevent invasive spotted lanternflies from spreading even further.

Even since the beginning of this season, the invasive bug has spread into another West Virginia county, Mercer, meaning it has now been confirmed in 17 counties, including Monongalia, Marion, Harrison and Taylor in the north central region. The red-winged bugs have the potential to infest dozens of tree and vine species in West Virginia and could negatively impact native plants and fruit trees in West Virginia, including apples, cherries and grapes

Although the spread of the bug seems impossible to slow, as it has expanded from only a small population in Berkeley County to a widespread problem, but there are a few things residents can do to have a real impact on stopping their spread.

First if you see one, in the words of the U.S. Forest Service, “squash it immediately!”

“Every lanternfly eliminated helps protect our environment. Let’s work together to stop the spread,” the Forest Service said in a post.

You can also help by reporting the location where you saw the bug to bugbusters@wvda.us.

Although spotted lanternflies will feast on many different plants in West Virginia, their favorite is tree-of-heaven, an invasive tree from China. Like many other invasive plants, native animals won’t eat it, and a study from Penn State suggests that birds also don’t like to eat spotted lanternflies that are feeding on tree-of-heaven.

“Removing tree-of-heaven from your property is vital in reducing populations of this pest,” according to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

The WVDA says that just cutting the tree down is not enough; it must be killed with an herbicide, preferably between June and December.