What can we purchase that will kill spotted lanternfly? We are in Chester county, Pennsylvania.
The spotted lanternfly has been identified and labeled as an invasive species here in the United States. Currently active in the northeast, the state of Pennsylvania seems to be where they started. They’re now active in at least 18 states including Georgia.
Lanternflies are an issue that must be addressed. Their moth-piercing mouth parts are used to suck sap. These holes will leak honey dew which in turn promotes mold growth. Fungus like black sooty mold will then move in causing more stress and even death to the host plants.
Lanternflies hatch in the spring feeding on most any green plant found in the yard. By mid summer, adults will be found on trees where they prepare to mate and lay eggs during the fall. They seem to prefer fruit producing plants like grape vines or apple trees. But they’ll readily egg lay on maples and other hardwoods.
Once in the yard, they’ll egg lay on the home and even invade structures as fall turns to winter and temperatures drop.
Lanternflies are not in the fly or moth family. They’re actually a type of “hopper” and grouped with aphids, cicadas and spittlebugs. And they don’t really fly much. They seem to prefer “hopping” over flying and are quite strong and able to move from yard to yard with very little flight required.
To control an active population on trees or on the home, spray MAXXTHOR EC mixed .5 oz to a gallon. Its fast acting and naturally repellent to this pest. You’ll kill what’s active and keep new ones from moving in for 2-4 weeks per treatment.
The following short video (less than 60 seconds long) shows how to set up our GREEN TOPPED HOSE END SPRAYER to make applications up high. This sprayer is well suited for the job since its nozzle can be removed and then it will reach up as high as your garden hose would normally spray.
Start treating affected plants during the summer before they move onto your property. Maxxthor will repel them so having a treatment in place would be smart for prevention and to keep them nesting or invading the home during the fall. Treat as needed if they return; in most cases 1-2 treatments will purge the yard and keep them off the house.
To get the best performance when spraying, add SPREAD-X BOOST to your tank mix along with the Maxxthor. Boost is an adjuvant, also known as a wetter spreader or spreader sticker. It basically makes water and the spray mixture more “slippery” so you get better coverage. Treatments will spread 2-3 times wider and penetrate deeper. This is super important when spraying “tough to penetrate” pests like Lantern Flies. Boost will help Maxxthor penetrate them and their eggs.
The following short video summarizes why Boost can help deliver your treatment better.
Add no more than the rate you’re applying the Maxxthor so in this case, if you’re adding 2.5 oz of Maxxthor to the hose end sprayer, add 2.5 oz of Boost too before adding water. If you’re adding Maxxthor to a pump sprayer at the rate of 1/3 oz per gallon, use 1/3 oz of Boost.
This is the recommended hose end sprayer for the task.
If the issue is low, 20 feet or less, our PUMP SPRAYER can do the job. Be sure to spray all the leaf litter under the tree inside the drip line too.
For highest reach, get one of our NO PUMP SPRAYERS. This vunique sprayer is simple yet very good, easy to use and one of our “favs” for applying insecticides to your homes exterior and landscape (its too powerful for use inside).
Ideally suited for reaching heights of 40+ feet, it has no moving parts other than the valve you hold for spraying and the adjustable brass “bullet” nozzle.
This sprayer is essentially a tank that can hold water, chemical and up to 130 psi of air. The top lid has a clamp and rubber gasket that seats on the “inside” of the sprayer so as you fill it with air, the seal will naturally remain in place, nice and tight.
This video covers the No Pump sprayer in great detail.
The top has 3 “ports” (pic below). The port to the far left is used to fill the tank with air. Using any electric air pump (the kind you would use the fill tires on your car), you can safely pressurize this sprayer up to 80 psi. The tank is rated for up to 130 lbs but the relief valve will only allow you to fill it to 80-90 psi before it starts to release. This happens as a safety precautionary action.
For normal use around the home, 50-60 psi should be enough for you empty the liquid from the 2.5 gallon tank assuming you only add 1 gallon of mixed product. True, the sprayer can “hold” 2.5 gallons of liquid but you need room for the air. Our tests show that 50-60 psi will pump out an entire gallon of spray allowing you to reach 25-30 feet heights.
For reaching 40+ feet or higher targets, pressurize the sprayer to 80 psi and again, mix up only what you plan on using and no more than 1 gallon of mixed solution at one time so the tank has enough room left to store all the needed “air”. One charge of 80 psi is enough to get the entire mixture to spray out so you don’t have to be concerned about constantly recharging.
The 5 GALLON NO PUMP can hold over 2 gallons of mixed material and can perform equally as well.
Remember, YOU WILL NEED AN AIR COMPRESSOR POWERFUL ENOUGH TO FILL THIS SPRAYER!! WE RECOMMEND ONE THAT CAN DO AT LEAST 100 PSI.
3 GALLON SETUP (remember to only fill it with 1 to 1.5 gallons of mixed solution to leave room for air)
(10% OFF WHEN ORDERING ONLINE)
5 GALLON SETUP (remember to only fill it with 2.5 (3 gallons max) if you want one tankful of air to pump it empty)
(10% OFF WHEN ORDERING ONLINE)
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