Locals warned as Lanternflys invade Pittsburgh
This week has seen an influx of Lanternflys invade Pittsburgh, which is not good for the local wildlife, or the local economy. Now, despite not looking too aggressive – these things travel in numbers and are a very invasive species. Often, they will cling to a tree or crop (as pictured) and quickly devour it. As a result, these can singlehandedly destroy farms within days if they are not kept under control.
Because of this, they are often advised to be killed immediately. Although this may sound drastic, you have to remember that people are literally made jobless because of these. The best way to kill them is by spraying them with a combination of vinegar and soap – which is also safe to spray on foliage without killing plants.
Unsurprisingly, many Pittsburgh locals have recently spoke about coming into contact with these pests, with many of them doing their part to get rid of them. However, not everyone is convinced. One resident said this: “We don’t have to kill them. There’s no way we can stop them. They are many, we are few. It’s absolutely futile.”
Overall, this sentiment may seem a bit pessimistic, but there’s also an element of truth to it. Sadly, this shows that despite how advanced our society may be – sometimes mother nature can put us in our place. When thinking about it, this is quite ironic considering the size of these things.
This is another human failure, not “mother nature.” Invasive species are brought in on poorly inspected and regulated global commerce. Its time to beef up port inspections before we see another invasive species.
I agree with Larry J Schweitzer,next will be another virus
They need to havea lot better inspections then they have now. We already have no idea of how many species of trees we will lose over the last thing (mold?) that was brought over here, now these bugs, flies) and who knows what else! All my maple trees are dying, my pine trees are dying, How many more?? We are going to run out of trees!
found about 30 04 40, sprayed with white vinegar. I am not certain that it is killing them, as soon as I spray they jump off of the leaves. Yesterday, got a few more…. Found them on my Blackberry bush, which is doing exceedingly great and producing a lot of berries this year. Is the fruit still safe to eat if they have been chewing holes in the leaves? I hope that I will not lose this harvest…. I will also say, swearing at them does not help!! I am going to add some Dawn to vinegar since it is safe to use. Any other natural suggestions that work are welcome. From what I see, This is the only thing in my yard that is getting attacked…..
I found 1 swimming in my dogs water bowl. I didn’t realize this is the insect that we should kill. It looks more like a beautiful speckled spider. I will look today to see if I see anymore.