Protect your Backyard from The Spotted Lanternfly

If you are a homeowner in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you have probably found yourself seeking solutions that protect your home’s landscape from the invasive planthopper known as the spotted lanternfly. This outdoor parasite feeds on your plants and drips a honeydew residue that turns to mold. The mold will not only cause damage to your plants, but it can also wreak havoc on your home’s siding or ruin your patio or deck. If you are seeking to eliminate this harmful pest from your backyard, but don’t know where to start, you are probably fearing that the spotted lanternfly will take over your backyard this summer.

At MasterPLAN Outdoor Living, we believe that you deserve a backyard that keeps harmful pests at bay, and we don’t think you should waste your time fearing a spotted lanternfly invasion as its eggs begin to hatch this May!

To protect your backyard from the spotted lanternfly consider these tips:

Inspect your property for Spotted Lanternfly Eggs

Spotted lanternfly eggs can typically be found on hard surfaces such as tree trunks, stones, patios, patio furniture, decks, or pots that contain your plants. When the spotted lanternfly lays its egg mass it can contain up to 50 eggs or more. The spotted lanternfly egg mass will usually resemble a gray or white putty-like substance and are approximately 1” long.  If you find an egg mass, experts recommend scraping it into a bag or container with a putty knife and then filling with isopropyl alcohol or hand sanitizer.

Remove the Tree of Heaven on your Property

Studies have reported that spotted lanternflies were initially attracted to Pennsylvania and New Jersey because of the large population of Tree of Heaven in both states. Tree of Heaven is famous for its bad smell and is also known to be the number one food source for spotted lanternflies. You can protect your backyard from the spotted lanternfly by killing about 90 percent of the female Tree of Heaven in your yard. But, to eliminate the spotted lanternfly’s food source in your backyard you will need to go beyond just cutting down the Tree of Heaven. You will also need to apply herbicide to kill the Tree of Heaven stumps.

Destroy the Spotted Lanternfly

Once it hatches, the spotted lanternfly is a red, white and black spotted insect that has the ability to travel on all types of vehicles, various landscaping tools, wood-based materials, and even agricultural produce. If you see these destructive pests anywhere, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recommends the following advice: “Kill it! Squash it, smash it…just get rid of it. In the fall, these bugs will lay egg masses with 30-50 eggs each. These are called bad bugs for a reason, don’t let them take over your county next.”

At MasterPLAN, we believe that you deserve a backyard that is protected from the spotted lanternfly on all fronts, and we get how overwhelming it is to determine the best solution to eliminate the threat this harmful pest can have on your backyard. You are not alone!

This is precisely why MasterPLAN has helped hundreds of Pennsylvania and New Jersey homeowners -just like you- transform their backyards into remarkable outdoor living spaces that help keep these harmful pests at bay.

Here’s how we do it:

Call – Schedule a design meeting

Collaborate – Design the perfect backyard and let MasterPLAN do all the heavy lifting to complete your build

Construction– Once you approve your design, construction will commence

Celebrate- Raise a toast to your transformed home and the new life that will come from it!

With these four easy steps, you will transform your backyard into an outdoor living space that maximizes your property, allows you to experience an uncommon pride in homeownership, and makes your backyard a magnet to life’s important moments!

                                               CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR DESIGN MEETING!

                                                                                      (610) 628-2480

In the meantime, sign up for these Design Tips and Tricks for your outdoor living space. So you can avoid wasting time, money, and space by designing your backyard transformation before we build it!

To help officials trace the spread of spotted lanternfly, make sure to report sightings to your county entomologist, state agriculture department, or local spotted lanternfly hotline.

If you see a Spotted Lanternfly in Pennsylvania you can report it online or via phone by calling 1-888-4BADFLY.

If you see a Spotted Lanternfly in New Jersey you can call New Jersey Spotted Lanternfly Hotline at 1-833-223- 2840 (BADBUG0) and leave a message detailing your sighting and contact information.