‘This Is The Worst Pest We’ve Seen To Date’: The Spotted Lanternfly Can Wreak Havoc In Western Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — And here they come.

The scourge of eastern Pennsylvania has hitched a ride west and arrived in Allegheny and Beaver counties.

Introducing the Spotted Lanternfly.

“They don’t bite or anything like that. But they come out in large numbers,” Ehrlich Entomologist Chad Gore, Ph.D. said.

Feeding on fruit trees and grapes, the spotted lanternfly is devastating to agriculture and creates a real mess around homes.

Specifically, Dr. Gore said what comes out of their backsides, which is affectionately called honeydew, is messy.

“You end up with a rain of honeydew and it gets on everything,” Gore said.

Sticky, gooey and killing whatever it lands on, Dr. Gore said the honeydew attracts bees, flys and wasp.

“We want to keep Pittsburgh from experiencing that nuisance factor,” said Shannon Powers with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

The critters have been an issue in eastern Pennsylvania for a couple of years and 24 counties are under quarantine to keep them from spreading.

Allegheny and Beaver counties have been added to the quarantine list after spotted lanternflies were found in a Beaver County railyard and in Pittsburgh, Monroeville and North Versailles.

That’s why the state is calling on everyone to look for the smears of eggs that are out there now.

“It looks like a smear of mud,” said Powers. “They can be found on trees, as well as anything outside of your home.”

“Take something like a credit card or a scraper and scrape them off and put them in a bag with alcohol and throw them away,” Gore said.

Or Powers said you can always use your shoe, “Squish the eggs underneath, scrape and squish.”

With the quarantine now in effect, any commercial driver going through or coming in and out of the area is required to get a free permit.

The process educates drivers on what the eggs look like and how to get rid of them.

Powers said if stink bugs creeped you out, “We think this is worse. This is the worst pest we’ve seen to date.”

She said the pest is not just obnoxious it is expensive.

The spotted lanternfly is costing the Pennsylvania economy about $50 million and eliminating nearly 500 jobs each year, according to a Penn State University study.

It will be a couple of months before spotted lanternflies emerge as adults, but the eggs are out there now.

That’s why the state hopes everyone will look for and destroy the eggs before they hatch.