Reporting sightings of spotted lanternfly outside of New Castle County is significant. Citizen reports help us determine how these insects are moving and which transportation pathways they are utilizing. These reports also allow us to notify agricultural operations that have plants vulnerable to this insect.
While spotted lanternfly are planthoppers, they can fly and are quick to hop away. Make sure to kill the nymphs and adults before taking pictures because we do not want them to stay in the environment. It is recommended that you stomp on a spotted lanternfly head-on. If they feel the air change from your foot coming down behind them, they will hop away or take flight.
One of the most important pieces of tracking their movement is knowing the exact location where you found the spotted lanternfly. Please make sure to include the location in your report to the Delaware Department of Agriculture. By having the sighting location, our inspectors can visit the location/area to determine if a new spotted lanternfly population is present.
Whenever possible, destroy positively identified spotted lanternfly with registered insecticides and discard. When collecting suspected specimens of any life stage found outside New Castle County—place in a vial or plastic zip-lock bag with the collector’s name and contact. Submit the specimen to the Delaware Department of Agriculture Spotted Lanternfly Program for verification. Efforts to identify and destroy spotted lanternfly will help your property and community.
Related Topics: Detection, Kent County, Lanternfly, plant industries, Quarantine, reporting, Spotted Lanternfly, Sussex County