PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Now is a great time to get a head start on stopping the spread of spotted lanternflies.
It’s been a while since we saw spotted lanternflies taking over Downtown Pittsburgh and many other areas in western Pennsylvania. That’s because the adult ones died, but they left us some presents.
“This is a great time to look for egg masses and eliminate them,” said Ellen Yerger, an associate professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the biology department.
Lanternfly egg masses will hatch in the spring, but those egg masses are an easy target for removal. Yerger said these insects will lay their eggs on anything.
“You can look on the bark of trees, that’s a good place to start. They also really like to lay it on rusty metal so the back of a sign, the underside of your car,” Yerger said.
Yerger said the first step is to make sure you know what the invasive insects’ egg masses look like. If you spot some, you can smash the eggs.