Spotted Lanternflies in New Jersey:
What Homeowners Should Actually Do

Spotted lanternflies are no longer a new arrival in New Jersey.
They are established across the state. The question today is not
whether one homeowner can eradicate them. It is how to manage
heavy activity intelligently, protect valuable plants, destroy
egg masses and avoid accidentally moving the pest somewhere else.

Updated September 27, 2026
By Laurie
New Jersey Homeowner Guide

Laurie
Helping New Jersey families understand outdoor pests,
yard conditions and practical ways to protect the places
they live and play.

The Quick Answer: Spotted Lanternflies Are Established, Management Matters More Than Panic

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an
invasive planthopper that feeds on plant sap. It was first
detected in the United States in Berks County, Pennsylvania,
in 2014 and has since spread throughout much of the Mid-Atlantic,
including New Jersey.

At this point, spotted lanternfly is not an isolated New Jersey
outbreak. Every New Jersey county is now included in
the state’s spotted lanternfly quarantine.

That changes the practical goal for homeowners.

You are not going to eradicate spotted lanternflies from New
Jersey by killing every adult that lands on one tree. A better
strategy is to reduce local populations, destroy reachable egg
masses, avoid transporting them to new locations, manage heavily
used host plants and protect valuable plants when pressure
becomes significant.

21 counties
Every New Jersey county is now within the state quarantine.
30–50 eggs
A typical spotted lanternfly egg mass can contain dozens
of developing insects.
70+ plants
Spotted lanternflies can feed on a wide range of plant species.

New Jersey Is Still Actively Managing Spotted Lanternfly

Widespread does not mean ignored.

According to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s 2025
annual report, state spotted-lanternfly teams destroyed
71,860 egg masses, vacuumed more than
48,000 live lanternflies, treated hundreds of
properties and continued targeted tree-of-heaven management.

That tells homeowners something important: management still
matters, but it has to be realistic and targeted.

Know What You Are Looking For: Spotted Lanternflies Change Completely as They Grow

One reason people miss spotted lanternflies early in the season
is that young insects look almost nothing like the adults they
remember from late summer.

Early nymphs

Young nymphs are black with distinct white spots. They are
wingless and move by crawling and jumping between plants.

Later nymphs

The fourth nymphal stage develops striking red coloration
along with black and white markings.

Adults

Adults have gray forewings marked with black spots. When the
wings open, the bright red, black and white hindwings become
much more obvious.

Egg masses

Fresh egg masses often look like a gray smear of mud.
As they age, the covering becomes lighter, cracked and
easier to overlook.

Spotted Lanternfly Life Cycle in New Jersey

Spotted lanternflies have one generation per year. Knowing which
stage is present tells you which management method is likely to
be useful.

Fall through spring
Egg masses

Egg laying begins in the fall. The adults die with hard
freezing weather, but the egg masses survive winter.

Around May
Black-and-white nymphs hatch

Newly hatched nymphs begin moving among many different
host plants.

Early summer
Red fourth-instar nymphs appear

Older nymphs become red, black and white and continue feeding
while moving through the landscape.

July through fall
Adults dominate

Adults become increasingly obvious during late summer and
fall and often aggregate heavily on favored host plants.

September–December
A new generation of eggs is laid

Egg masses may be placed on trees, stone, outdoor equipment,
vehicles, furniture, firewood and many other hard surfaces.

What Damage Do Spotted Lanternflies Actually Cause?

Spotted lanternflies feed by inserting piercing-sucking mouthparts
into plant tissue and consuming phloem sap.

Heavy feeding can stress a plant, reduce vigor and contribute to
wilting or dieback. But the level of concern depends heavily on
the plant, the size of the population and how long the feeding
continues.

Grapevines deserve serious attention

Grapes are one of the crops for which spotted lanternfly
pressure has created the greatest concern. Heavy feeding can
reduce vine health, yield and the ability of vines to store
enough energy for the following season.

Mature landscape trees are different

A handful of lanternflies on a large, otherwise healthy tree
does not automatically mean the tree is going to die.
Large sustained populations and other stressors matter.

Young or stressed plants may be more vulnerable

Recently planted, drought-stressed or otherwise weakened
plants have less reserve capacity to tolerate additional
feeding stress.

Nuisance can be severe even without tree death

Hundreds or thousands of insects, honeydew, sooty mold and
wasp activity can make patios, decks and yards unpleasant
even when the tree itself survives.

Honeydew and Sooty Mold Are Often the Biggest Residential Problem

Spotted lanternflies consume far more plant sap than they need
for nutrition. The excess sugar-rich liquid is excreted as
honeydew.

When populations are heavy, honeydew can rain down from an
infested tree onto everything underneath it:

✓Patios and decks
✓Outdoor furniture
✓Vehicles
✓Shrubs and plants below the tree
✓Play equipment and walkways

The sugar also supports the growth of dark
sooty mold fungi. This black coating can reduce
photosynthesis on plants beneath the feeding insects and creates
the familiar sticky, dirty appearance homeowners often notice
before they even see the lanternflies above them.

Honeydew can also attract bees, wasps and other insects that are
feeding on the sugar.

What Heavy Spotted Lanternfly Activity Can Look Like

Lanternflies often aggregate instead of distributing themselves
evenly throughout a property. One tree may contain hundreds while
another nearby tree has very few.

Egg Masses Are the Easiest Life Stage for a Homeowner to Remove

An adult lanternfly can jump or glide away from you. An egg mass
cannot.

That makes fall, winter and early spring useful times to inspect
the property.

A typical egg mass contains roughly 30–50 eggs.
Removing one accessible mass can therefore prevent dozens of
nymphs from hatching locally the following spring.

1
Look beyond tree trunks

Check rocks, fence posts, decks, furniture, trailers,
grills, vehicles, firewood and equipment stored outdoors.

2
Scrape reachable masses

Use a rigid plastic card, putty knife or similar tool to
remove the mass.

3
Actually destroy the eggs

Do not simply brush an intact mass onto the ground.
Crush the eggs thoroughly or follow NJDA guidance for
destroying them.

4
Stay safely on the ground

Many egg masses are high in trees. Do not climb or use
unsafe ladders simply to reach every mass.

Penn State research notes that the vast majority of egg masses
on tall trees may be above easy reach. Egg scraping helps, but it
should be understood as one part of management rather than a
way to eliminate every future lanternfly.

Tree-of-Heaven Matters, but Do Not Just Cut It Down

Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is itself an
invasive tree and one of the most important spotted lanternfly
host plants.

It is common along roadsides, wooded edges, neglected properties,
fence lines and disturbed areas throughout New Jersey.

Unfortunately, tree-of-heaven has another trait that makes it
difficult: simply cutting the trunk can trigger aggressive
root suckering.

Do not treat it like an ordinary tree

Cutting first and asking questions later can turn one tree
into a colony of root sprouts.

Proper removal usually requires root control

Extension guidance commonly recommends appropriately timed
herbicide treatment before or as part of removal so the
root system is killed rather than stimulated.

If you are not certain whether a tree is tree-of-heaven, identify
it correctly before taking action. Native sumacs and other trees
can look similar at first glance.

When spotted lanternflies first started showing up everywhere,
it felt like every homeowner was being told to panic and spray
anything that moved. I don’t think that’s the best way to look
at them. If you have a few on a big healthy tree, that’s very
different from hundreds covering a grapevine or dripping
honeydew over your patio. Look at what is actually happening
on your property first, then decide what really needs to be done.

Circle Traps Can Help, Especially When Nymphs Are Crawling Up Trees

Young spotted lanternflies frequently crawl upward on tree trunks
as they move to new feeding locations. Traps take advantage of
that behavior.

One of the better mechanical options is a
circle trap: a funnel-like barrier around the
trunk that directs climbing lanternflies into a collection container.

Best use

Circle traps are especially useful against nymphs during the
spring and early summer when upward trunk movement is frequent.

Know the limitation

A trap may remove a large number from one tree, but it cannot
prevent lanternflies elsewhere in the neighborhood from moving
back onto the property.

What about sticky bands?

Exposed sticky bands can capture birds, butterflies, beneficial
insects and small mammals in addition to lanternflies.

Penn State recommends that sticky materials never be used without
a wildlife barrier. A properly designed circle trap generally
creates less risk of this type of unintended capture.

When Does Insecticide Treatment Actually Make Sense?

The presence of one spotted lanternfly is not automatically a
reason to spray an entire landscape.

Rutgers recommends monitoring the property to determine where
lanternflies are concentrating and whether meaningful pressure
is actually developing.

Treatment becomes more reasonable when there are persistent,
high populations on a valuable plant, when feeding threatens
grapes or another sensitive plant, or when honeydew and nuisance
levels become severe around a heavily used area.

A few insects on a mature tree

Monitoring and physical removal may be all that is needed.
Automatic blanket treatment can expose many organisms without
solving a meaningful plant-health problem.

Hundreds on a valuable host

That is a very different situation. Targeted treatment or
professional evaluation may be appropriate.

If a pesticide is used, choose a product labeled for the target
pest and treatment site and follow the label. For systemic
treatment of large trees or severe infestations, consider using
a licensed arborist or pesticide professional.

Skip Internet “Miracle Sprays”

Spotted lanternfly season produces an enormous amount of homemade
pesticide advice online, dish soap, vinegar, household cleaners,
salt mixtures, essential oils and combinations of whatever happens
to be under the kitchen sink.

“Homemade” does not automatically mean safe.

A mixture capable of killing an insect on contact may also burn
plant tissue, harm beneficial insects or create an exposure that
was never evaluated for use as a pesticide.

Do not spray household cleaners or untested mixtures onto trees,
flowering plants or landscape areas simply because a social-media
post calls the recipe natural.

When chemical control is genuinely warranted, use a product that
is labeled for the intended use and follow the directions.

One of the Most Important Things New Jersey Residents Can Do: Look Before You Leave

Spotted lanternflies did not spread long distances because they
are exceptional flyers.

They are exceptional hitchhikers.

Egg masses and live insects can be moved on vehicles and outdoor
materials. New Jersey’s statewide quarantine specifically focuses
attention on preventing that human-assisted movement.

✓
Inspect trailers and recreational vehicles.
✓
Check lawn equipment and mowers before transport.
✓
Look over grills, patio furniture and furniture covers.
✓
Inspect firewood, logs, pallets and construction materials.
✓
Check vehicles parked beneath heavily infested trees.
✓
Destroy attached egg masses before moving an item.

Do Spotted Lanternflies Bite People or Pets?

No. Despite their appearance and sometimes overwhelming numbers,
spotted lanternflies are not a biting pest.

Their mouthparts are adapted for feeding on plant sap, not biting
people or animals.

Their importance is as an invasive plant pest and nuisance,
not as a direct health threat like ticks and mosquitoes.

Spotted Lanternflies Are a Nuisance. Ticks and Mosquitoes Can Be a Health Concern.

Bite Back’s primary specialty is all-natural tick and mosquito
control for New Jersey yards.

Unlike spotted lanternflies, ticks and mosquitoes can bite people
and pets and can transmit disease. Our seasonal program focuses
specifically on reducing those pests in the parts of your yard
where pressure develops.

We do not use this article to promise a spotted-lanternfly
treatment package that may not be appropriate for every property.
If your concern is ticks and mosquitoes, we can help.

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Choose Bite Back, because what is sprayed in your yard matters. 🌿

Trusted Spotted Lanternfly Resources

• 
  New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Spotted Lanternfly
  
• 
  NJDA, Homeowner Resources
  
• 
  Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Management & Trapping
  
• 
  Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Spotted Lanternfly FAQ
  
• 
  Penn State Extension, Spotted Lanternfly Management Guide
  
• 
  Penn State Extension. What to Do With Egg Masses
  

Spotted Lanternfly FAQs for New Jersey Homeowners

Final Takeaway: Manage the Problem You Actually Have

Spotted lanternflies are now part of New Jersey’s landscape.
That does not mean homeowners should ignore them, and it does
not mean every sighting requires an aggressive pesticide response.

Look for egg masses. Destroy the ones you can safely reach.
Inspect outdoor materials before moving them. Learn to identify
tree-of-heaven. Use circle traps when they make sense. Watch
valuable plants for sustained heavy pressure.

Most importantly, distinguish between a few lanternflies passing
through a yard and a true infestation that is stressing a valuable
plant or creating a serious honeydew problem.

Good pest management is not about spraying first. It is about
understanding what you are dealing with and using the least
disruptive tool that will actually solve the problem.