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\nPHOTO CAPTION: Adult Spotted Lanternfly swarming a Maple Tree.<\/em><\/p>\n
As the bugs feed on trees, they drip sour-smelling, sticky excrement called \u201choneydew.\u201d It coats everything underneath where the insects are feeding. The tacky honeydew is difficult to remove from hardscapes, decks, cars, and other valuable objects on the property.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s even worse is that the tantalizing honeydew, along with the black, sooty mold that grows from it, attracts stinging wasps. Wasps will swarm a property, and that\u2019s especially a problem if there are children playing in the yard.<\/p>\n
Treatments Need to be Carefully Timed<\/strong><\/p>\n Spotted Lanternfly has only been in the US since 2014, but the insect has multiplied rapidly.\u00a0To determine the best way to control this new invasive pest, researchers at\u00a0Penn State\u00a0and the\u00a0PA Department of Agriculture recommend a control program that targets the pest during the Adult stage. This stage occurs between July and November.<\/p>\n The Adult stage is when Spotted Lanternfly is most vulnerable to treatment.\u00a0Adults tend to stay in one place and attack favorite host trees, as opposed to the younger nymphs that quickly hop from plant to plant.\u00a0As a result, there is much more success in killing the adults when trees are treated at carefully timed intervals.<\/p>\n The first treatment of the 2-part control plan recommended by Penn State should be done between July and September. This is a basal trunk spray that kills the pest on contact. It\u2019s also absorbed up through the tree\u2019s vascular system and kills the bugs as they feed on the tree.\u00a0The treatment lasts for up to 60 days.<\/p>\n By September through November, the Adults can be found everywhere on the host trees. 1-2 additional sprays are needed on the trunk, limbs and foliage. This spray kills the insect on contact and the residual kills any Spotted Lanternfly that walk over or feed on the tree for up to 30 days.<\/p>\n Like many Tree companies battling Spotted Lanternfly, Giroud Tree and Lawn is seeing a very high interest in the control program this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re confident that these treatments will do the job,\u201d says Rodney Stahl, Jr, Giroud\u2019s Plant Healthcare Manager. \u201cThe problem is that our schedule is filling up. July is already booked and August is beginning to fill up. Soon, we\u2019ll have more requests for treatments than we can handle. Homeowners, who want to have their trees treated, need to get on a program now before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n Steps Homeowners Should Take Now<\/strong><\/p>\n\n