This little bugger scares me. The length of your fingernail.
A dozen 60ft+ tall trees at the road frontage of our property are now dead. The Power Company is asking to take them down. Hoping the critter doesn’t spread further in to the woods…as there’re hundreds of target trees that they could wipe out.
Sudden oak death is no picnic. Fairly sure it’s actually some kind of blight that’s killing the Pin Oaks here. Something’s not right when maybe 25% of the biggest trees (100 - 150 years old) die in just the past 5 - 10 years.
Yeah, we already kissed our ash goodbye in Ohio. Not to mention our elms, chestnuts, and butternuts, so I didn’t include that. 1/3 of our forests are already gone from those. Asian longhorns will supposedly wipe out all softwoods, including most maples.
I missed this when originally published. Treating two areas in MD for spotted lanterfly.
Spotted Lanternfly treatments begin in Cecil, Harford counties
MDA found a small population of spotted lanternfly in these two areas
PUBLISHED ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
The Maryland Department of Agriculture is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to treat for spotted lanternfly at multiple sites in the upper northeast corner of Cecil County and along the northern border of Harford County. The Maryland Department of Agriculture found a small population of spotted lanternfly in these two areas while surveying for the invasive pest this spring and summer. (photo by Penn State, creative commons/flickr.com)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Department of Agriculture is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to treat for spotted lanternfly at multiple sites in the upper northeast corner of Cecil County and along the northern border of Harford County. The Maryland Department of Agriculture found a small population of spotted lanternfly in these two areas while surveying for the invasive pest this spring and summer.
“Even before the first spotted lanternfly was confirmed in Maryland last October, the department and our partners had been vigorously surveying and educating the public about this pest,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joseph Bartenfelder. “Due to its potentially devastating effects on the agriculture industry, treating for this invasive insect now is critical to controlling its spread in Maryland and protecting our state’s agricultural commodities.”
The USDA will work with a contractor to treat Ailanthus altissima, more commonly known as tree-of-heaven, in a quarter-mile radius of where the department found spotted lanternfly during surveying. Ailanthus altissima is the spotted lanternfly’s preferred tree to feed on and research has shown it is required for spotted lanternfly reproduction.
“We’re working with Maryland Department of Agriculture to contain, control, and suppress the isolated spotted lanternfly infestations in Cecil and Harford Counties,” said USDA’s State Plant Health Director Matthew Travis. “Detecting the pest early, while the population is small, is critical to stopping its spread. That’s why we’re asking the public for help. If you see spotted lanternfly or find egg masses, call MDA or an Extension office.”
Treatments are administered under USDA supervision. Depending on the size of the tree, there are two treatment types. Ailanthus altissima less than six inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) will receive herbicide treatments and Ailanthus altissima with a DBH greater than six inches will be treated with systemic insecticide. Both the herbicide and the insecticide have been found to have no or very minimal health effects on humans and pets.
All property owners in the treatment area have been, or will be, directly notified prior to spraying. Treatments will be completed by the end of September and will resume in the spring.
The spotted lanternfly poses a major threat to the region’s agricultural industries as it feeds on over 70 different types of plants and crops – including grapes, hops, apples, peaches, oak, pine, and many others. Originally from Asia, the spotted lanternfly is non-native to the U.S. and was first detected in Berks County, Pennsylvania in the fall of 2014. As a known hitchhiker, the spotted lanternfly has spread to 14 counties within Pennsylvania and has confirmed populations in Delaware, Virginia, and New Jersey.
The department’s Plant Protection and Weed Management Program continues to work with USDA, the University of Maryland Extension, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), and others to monitor the insect in Maryland. Our department has also launched outreach and education campaigns aimed at agricultural operations and the general public. There is no spotted lanternfly quarantine for businesses or homeowners in Maryland at this time.
If you suspect you have found a spotted lanternfly, snap a picture of it, collect it, put it in a plastic bag, freeze it, and report it to the Maryland Department of Agriculture at > DontBug.MD@maryland.gov> . Dead samples from any life stage can be sent to the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection and Weed Management Program at 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401.
For more information about the spotted lanternfly, please visit the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s website at Spotted Lanternfly.
–Megan Guilfoyle, Maryland Department of Agriculture
They’re in the NE corner of Cecil County and will likely spread. Saw quite a few dozen today bike riding in the Lehigh Valley about 7 - 10 miles north of the epicenter (Rolling Rock Stone near Landis Store, PA). Still very few near/on my property. There’s a good sized hole in the distribution. But where they are, there are lots.
Haven’t noticed a single one yet in NW Bucks County. I’ll keep my eyes open. There were tens of thousands of nymphs here a few years ago…everywhere. Very few last year.
And when people think of nymphs…they might think of teeny tiny deer ticks. Not the case. Laternfly nymphs are between the size of a dime and a quarter.
Unfortunately, the emerald ash borer is taking a nasty toll on the property Ash trees. Dozens of beautiful 80+ feet tall trees…now dead.
They seem to move as a massive wave like a line of thunderstorms that hits hard. The surge comes back aggressively the next year…and then plays out. Rumors of some sort of fungus or biota that keeps them in check. Without it, I can’t see how we wouldn’t be ankle deep.
In Chester County, we have one magnolia tree with a lot of nymphs. Haven’t seen them anywhere else. Killed the ones on lower branches and leaves but many more up high.
I’m on the lookout for them but as of yet have not seen any. For us it’s a matter of time before they show up. Frequent cruising in the vineyard is a must. What worries me about them showing up is that it becomes the new normal and yet another pest to deal with. In this case the pest really creates severe plant damage. As each season passes more information on how to deal with them is shared by Penn State & Virginia Tech.
From nothing to several here. I’m not seeing any massive waves but they’re definitely out and about in a roughly 30 mile radius (and no doubt beyond). Definitely not the scourge that was feared but a residual nuisance. I expect there’re some major surges in NJ along/beyond the PA border, Northeast MD and Central PA.
That’s how they were 2 years ago in Allentown and Bethlehem. Downtown seemed like the wrong place (inhospitable)…and they were everywhere. Sounds like you’re seeing the wave.
Have not yet seen any in my neck of the woods…knock on wood. Was really worried that tropical storm Isaias would blow some in our way…not that I have detected yet. One of these storms from the south will most certainly blow some in at some point in the future.
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