I killed my first two spotted lanternflies in the Celery Farm today. They were crawling at eye level on a Tree of Heaven, and easy to smack with my hand. 

    It felt good to do something so simple to protect the environment, but in the grand scheme of things, the arrival of all these bugs may be causing an over-reaction:   https://bit.ly/3A4HLBL

    Long-term, you’re better squishing the egg masses they create – but more on that several paragraphs down. 

   Lanternflies can live for up to two days before they eat plants, so it’s best to kill ‘em on sight.

   I hear all sorts of advice about how to do so. One local magazine suggested putting sticky tape (like old-fashioned fly tape) on tree, and putting a screen around it to keep birds from getting stuck. Sounds like a bit of work, and what about butterflies and moths?

https://www.nj.com/news/2022/08/spotted-lanternfly-glue-traps-are-killing-birds-wildlife-rescue-group-warns.html

   The article also suggested calling an exterminator. I would hope that the extermination would not involve poisons or other chemicals that kill non-target insects (butterflies and moths) or get into the soil.

   From what I’ve read in The N.Y. times, squashing these attractive bugs may not make a difference – but it can’t hurt.

   More important is crushing the egg masses, which contain roughly 50 future lanternflies and will form on tree trunks and the undersides of large branches in the coming weeks.

   A little-known but effective way to crush the egg masses is with a small metal or wooden pastry roller and rolling over the crushing egg masses. You might wear protective glasses in case things gets real squishy.

   I found this website helpful in identifying SLF egg masses:

   https://dof.virginia.gov/spotted-lanternfly-egg-mass-scouting-diy/