On a recent inspection of an infested Spotted Lanternfly site in Erie County, I witnessed an abundance of Honeydew and Sooty Mold. The owner of the property asked, “What can I do to get rid of it?”
You may have heard of Spotted Lanternfly. You may have visited a state like Pennsylvania and seen it. You may have read that Spotted Lanternfly (aka SLF) have been found close to home in Ohio. You may have even seen one. What should I do when I find them?
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is expanding the spotted lanternfly (SLF) quarantine to include counties in northeast and northwest Ohio to reduce the spread of the invasive insect.
The six new counties now under quarantine are: Wood, Seneca, Summit, Portage, Trumbull, and Carroll counties.
Last week, Jonathan Shields, Agriculture Inspection Manager with the Ohio Department of Agriculture's (ODA) Division of Plant Health reported seeing hatch of the spotted lanternfly (SLF) in Cincinnati, Ohio on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
As temperatures warm, Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (SLF) eggs laid last fall will begin to hatch later this spring. The National Phenology Network is forecasting SLF egg hatch in North America based on growing degree day (GDD), base 50F. The map below was captured on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. You can continue to monitor the USA NPN website for SLF egg hatch at: https://usanpn.org/data/maps/forecasts/spotted_lanternfly
The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (SLF) continues make the news, both locally in Ohio, and across much of the eastern United States. While adult SLF are still active in Ohio, as a result of the warmer than average temperatures that we have been experiencing, numbers are appearing to decrease from earlier observations in the field. Freezing temperatures will kill the remaining adults that continue to feed, lay eggs and be a nuisance simply by their presences and the sticky sweet honeydew and the sooty mold that follows, and an agricultural pest that threatens vineyards and more.
Northcentral Ohio Extension offices offered an opportunity for Master Gardeners and community members to see Spotted Lanternfly 1st and 2nd instar nymphs up close and personal.
