Hey everyone! I've been noticing some Spotted Lanternfly nymphs in my bramble, and since I'm trying to keep my garden as organic as possible, I want to avoid harming the ecosystem for the other critters that live there. I'm looking for any creative strategies to deal with these pesky insects—especially since they tend to jump around a lot! Any suggestions?
3 Answers
I've been using a handheld vacuum to suck up the nymphs. The bonus is that my local paper wasps have been doing a great job taking care of the adults, as they tend to hang out in trees and are super easy targets for them. Might be worth considering if you have wasps around!
Great news! Spotted Lanternflies can migrate, so they might not stick around forever. When I had a huge infestation a few years back, it felt like my trees were alive with them! I used a mix of methods like using a culinary torch, wrapping my trees with yellow sticky traps (but I added chicken fencing to protect birds), and I even caught them by hand. A clear container works well—they just jump right in! I’d catch about 100 in a juice bottle and then freeze them to get rid of them. Also, keep an eye out for their eggs, which look like mud smeared on the bark. Good luck!
Definitely put the corpses out where birds can eat them! I've heard it helps train local birds to hunt them.
A mini vacuum works wonders if you've got the time to walk around and just suck them up! It's surprisingly effective.
Do you need to add soap or juice in the container like you do for fruit flies, or is it just a plain bottle?