Spotted Lanternflies have arrived to the Ohio Valley, and we will never get rid of them

OHIO COUNTY, (WTRF) – The insect that we’ve been warned about for at least a year….is here.
The Spotted Lanternfly has arrived in the Ohio Valley.

WVU Extension Agent Karen Cox has now seen three of the colorful bugs that can cause incredible damage, right here in Ohio County.

The Spotted Lanternfly ruins crops of grapes, berries, nuts and tree fruits. And that’s just the beginning of their reign of destruction. They then excrete the partially digested sap.

“It will attract other insects that like sugary things like yellow jackets, wasps, that we don’t necessarily want around us.”

Karen Cox – WVU Extension Office

They can also grow a fungus called sooty mold.

“That sooty mold gets very thick and dense. And it can be very slippery. If it gets on your stairs, you could have a potential fall hazard.”

Karen Cox – WVU Extension Office

And it gets on other trees and plants, stopping them from being able to take in sunlight for photosynthesis.

The Spotted Lanternfly is from Southeast Asia. It has no natural predators here. And now that they’re here, Karen Cox says we will never get rid of them.

“But our goal is to slow them down just enough for Mother Nature to catch up and build up her natural defenses and re-balance our ecosystem.”

Karen Cox – WVU Extension Office

We are just seeing their arrival. She says by next spring, we’ll see a lot more of them. They establish their territory in very large numbers and they are voracious eaters.

She says if you are a person who doesn’t like locusts and cicadas, stand by. Spotted Lanternflies are worse.

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