STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The bugs are back, Spotted Lanternflies that is. The invasive insects have been swarming across trees, vineyards, and even backyards, causing big headaches for homeowners and farmers alike.
28/22 News Reporter Sydney Kostus found out why you may be seeing more of them this time of year.
On the serene grounds of Mountain View Vineyard in Stroudsburg, you'll find about 800 feet of wildflowers planted around the grapevines.
Pollinators planted for beauty, but also came in handy when the Spotted Lanternfly invaded the Keystone State.
"The milkweed, the pollen seemed to attract the spotted lanternfly to them, but then we also found out that it was poisonous, so in a very short period of time, we just didn't have an issue with them," Linda Rice, Co-Owner of Mountain View Vineyard, said.
The insect is an invasive species native to Asia that's spread to nearly 20 states in the US, including Pennsylvania, since 2014.
"Our guests would complain about what that ugly-looking thing was that flew next to them, and then we started noticing them in the vineyard," Rice stated.
Sept 9 marks 14th anniversary of 2011 floodThe lanternfly feeds on a slew of plants, one of them: grapevines.
Fortunate for milkweed, this winery was luckier than others.
"They caused a little bit of damage. They suck out the sap that's in the vine itself, but we noticed very quickly, though, that we weren't getting the kind of damage that most other vineyards were getting," Rice explained.
This time of year is when they are most active and damaging, also when females begin laying dozens of eggs.
If you see it, you're supposed to squish it, but that doesn't exactly mean we're controlling the population.
A Penn State researcher tells 28/22 News the idea of squashing them is one less that might hitchhike to an area where they haven't yet been populated.
Even local wildlife is helping out.
"There are some of our native predators that are picking up on them and eating them, but they're not specifically feeding on lanternflies, so the populations aren't really being reduced like they would with a dedicated predator," Penn State University Horticulture Educator and Spotted Lanternfly researcher, Brian Walsh, explained.
Walsh says a good Spotted Lanternfly is a dead one.
If you see a Spotted Lanternfly or any of its egg masses on trees, outdoor furniture, or vehicles, you're urged to squash them or scrape the eggs off to help prevent any reproduction and hatching.