Spotted Lantern Fly Control: Identifying Tree-of-Heaven & eliminating it

 Spotted lantern fly is increasingly becoming a menace in the north east. Noticed first in Pennsylvania, this invasive bug from Asia has breached quarantine efforts and moved beyond Pennsylvania into New Jersey and New York, and so far control efforts have been having limited impact. One reason for this is that the host tree preferred by spotted lantern fly, the Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), is widely prevalent in the North East. Eliminating or controlling spotted lantern fly can only be achieved by using drastic measures such as eliminating the preferred host plant Tree-of-heaven. 

While this may seem a drastic measure, it is not so because the Tree-of-heaven is an invasive species in itself that populates the area quite rapidly through numerous seeds it produces and through the root suckers. As such, controlling the Tree-of-heaven population is a desirable activity to ensure that it doesn't end up taking over local flora.

The Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is easily confused with other naive trees like Black Walnut and Staghorn Sumac, the leaves of which closely resemble the Tree-of-heaven. Hence it is important to ensure that one properly identifies the Tree-of-heaven before implementing control measures. Penn State University has put together a series of videos to help property owners distinguish between the Tree-of-heaven and native trees such as Black Walnut and Staghorn Sumac, and to demonstrate the correct procedure to eliminate a cluster of Tree-of-heaven.

This webpage on Tree-of-Heaven provides a lot of detail on this invasive plant.

The video below provides a video version of some of the same detail

The video below provides details on how to properly apply herbicide to control Tree-of-Heaven

Best time to apply control measures for Tree-of-Heaven are when the sap is moving downwards to the root system. This happens in the middle of summer. So learn the measures now, spend the next six months identifying the Tree-of-Heaven clusters on your property, and pencil the herbicide application chore in your calendar for the months of June and July.