TAKE ONE
Gardener News
October 2022
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TAKE ONE No. 234
PHOTOS NOT TO SCALE
Destroy Spotted Lanternfly Egg Masses
Tom Castronovo/Photos
Destruction of spotted lanternfly egg masses can help prevent the spread of spotted lanternfly. A single egg mass could hold 30 to 50 eggs. Early detection is vital to the effective control of this pest and the protection of agriculture and natural resources-related businesses. It’s a good time of year to spot the egg cases of the spotted lanternfly (SLF), now that leaves are falling, foliage is dying back and surfaces are exposed. SLF adults lay eggs starting in October and will continue to lay eggs through the first few hard frosts. Egg masses are live and viable from about October through July. Egg masses can be found on virtually any outdoor surface. The egg masses are about 1-1.5 inches long and 1/2 -3/4 inches wide. They are gray-brown in color. Newly laid egg masses are somewhat shiny – covered in a waxy coating. The wax, when it is first deposited, is light gray, but it takes on the appearance of mud as it dries. You can scrape egg masses whenever encountered using any hard or rigid tool such as a stick, a putty knife, or credit card. It’s unknown if eggs scraped onto the ground can survive, so the best advice is to scrape egg masses in a downward direction into a container with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. They can also be double bagged and thrown in the garbage.