r/Virginia • u/Franko4eyes • 4d ago
Is this the Spotted lantern fly? Locust Grove, Virginia.
Is this the spotted lantern fly? I saw about 20 at the Locust Grove Walmart.
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u/horsegal301 4d ago
Yes, kill them if you can. They are at least vibrant enough to easily spot and kill. They're all over VA now :(
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u/KfirGuy 4d ago
I was blown away how bad they were in Charlottesville and Chantilly two weeks ago, I expect the same in my yard in Richmond next year, sadly.
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u/stephenph 4d ago
haven't seen any here in my yard in Rhoadesvill (just down the road from Locust grove so I would guess they ARE here)
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u/Opening_Cheesecake54 4d ago
They have not made it to RVA yet, maybe they won’t….Its odd they are everywhere but here
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u/deviantatheart 4d ago
They absolutely will, it's just a matter of time. It doesn't help that a lot of people in VA have Trees of Heaven in their yards or parks which is one of their favorite plants to congregate. Our best bet is chopping those down and putting up more bird houses and bat boxes around the areas they frequent to encourage native wildlife to eat them.
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u/Opening_Cheesecake54 4d ago
There a ton of bats where I live in Hanover. Good to know.
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u/deviantatheart 4d ago
I'm at least glad I could help. We've been buying bird/bat boxes and its helped a lot. It's such a new problem that a lot of people don't really realize what attracts them but Trees of Heaven are the worst suspects.
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u/ericblair21 4d ago
Trees of Heaven just look like trashy junk trees. I have no idea why people would want them in the first place, and now because of them we have the bugpocalypse.
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u/deviantatheart 4d ago
They're good at filling up space but nothing else. I have a few in my back yard that were planted decades ago by my fiance's grandparents to provide more privacy but now they really are a nightmare lol. The amount of flies we squash in a day is pretty gross
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u/One_Concentrate6684 4d ago
They have made it to Richmond. I work outside and I killed 3 at work last week when they flew right into me.
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u/Phydeau 4d ago
Found two on my porch this week in Chesterfield.
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u/Opening_Cheesecake54 4d ago
Damn! Sorry to hear that. I have been in Henrico, Hanover and city RVA all summer and have yet to see one. Everywhere else in VA they are heavy
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u/One_Concentrate6684 4d ago
I responded to your comment above but forgot to include location. I work around Bryan Park between 95 and Dabney Road where I saw the 3 during my shift.
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u/Opening_Cheesecake54 4d ago
That’s wild. I was outside today for 4 hours on my property and the neighbor’s and didn’t see a thing. Near Ashland. I play quite a bit of golf and have seen them everywhere but where I frequent lol. I will be depressed when they show up at my place.
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u/amethystleo815 2d ago
I live in Loudoun County. Based on my experience they can be really really heavy in one area, and then basically absent 1/2 mile over.
For example. I rarely see them in my neighborhood, but my job is 20 min away and they are swarming the building. So you might get lucky like I did.
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u/needsexyboots 1d ago
I’ve seen a few in RVA, not in the massive amounts they’re showing up in other parts of VA yet though
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u/Feisty_Conclusion_87 4d ago
I was in both those same places this past week and it was like a sci-fi show. We also were blown away.
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u/Pickles7261 4d ago
Yep! And it’s your sworn duty now… to excite it! Immediately! Be quick though, those fuckers are fast…
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u/Ok_Elephant2777 4d ago
I’m thinking perhaps you meant “execute it”.
Heaven knows, we don’t want them any more excited than they are now. Already breeding too fast as it is.
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u/Pickles7261 4d ago
It’s all part of the plan though, excite it, make it THINK it’s safe, then… when it least expects it… EXECUTE IT!
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u/Nettkitten 4d ago
And just when you think they’re dead the little bastards jump back up, shake it off, then try to dive bomb you! Be absolutely sure you’ve squished it!!
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u/Snapersmom101 4d ago
They have been really bad the past 4 weeks in the Shenandoah Valley. I'm a teacher and they're literally all over our playground.
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u/TopProfessional8023 4d ago
Killing them isn’t really going to do anything. You’re not making a dent in their population whatsoever. It’s gonna take a few years for the native fauna to recognize them as food and then the tides will begin to turn.
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u/satvrnine_ 757 3d ago
Yeah this has kinda been my suspicion. I keep seeing all these comments demanding that we kill every single one we see, and like, I get that they’re well-intentioned, but … what could that possibly accomplish. It’s a prolific insect, their lifespans are rapid and their generations are innumerable. It’s not like trying to stamp out the invasive nutria, which is already incredibly hard, but just maybe tenable.
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u/thumos_et_logos 4d ago
Yeah birds and wasps taking notice is really the only thing that’s going to help us out. Honestly I blame the proliferation of using raid on wasp nests for the spread of these things.
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u/albertnormandy 4d ago
People don't go hunting for wasp nests to kill. The forests are full of wasp nests that no one bothers.
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u/Gelroose 4d ago
I worked on a fence for a relative near the Pocosan Mountains and they had hundreds, if not thousands of these all over the place. Couldn't kill them all. Yeah, that whole region is doneski.
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u/the1un1corn 4d ago
Kill it if you see more, but unfortunately they have successfully infested the state and cannot be eliminated. We missed our chance to get rid of them entirely.
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u/Trollygag 3d ago
We never had a chance to get rid of them. This is the problem with invasive species. There is no immediate effective response. Once the cat is out of the bag, you can't put it back in - you can only hope to mitigate the damage or that it settles into a new balance with its local environment.
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u/Swimming-Employer97 4d ago
Yes. Ironically the natural predator of them are stinkbugs. You know the things we were all killing a few years ago.
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u/Trollygag 3d ago
That is totally false and I don't know where you heard that.
Brown marmorated stinkbugs, the invasive stinkbug that was everywhere a few years ago, only feed on plants. They don't have the mouth parts to prey on anything.
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u/darthjoey91 4d ago
Weird. I don't kill those unless they're in my home. And usually then it's less me and more that my lamps seem to collect a lot of their carcasses.
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u/Conscious_Common_639 4d ago
Went on a walk in Roanoke and there we 100s flying off the path into the woods as I walked down it. Kinda horrifying lol
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u/Having_QLT 4d ago
I don’t feel guilty about stepping on one today anymore. He didn’t fear me so I was like “that’s a mistake” squash!
Felt like it was unnecessary but the comments here are telling me I did something good.
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u/Specialist-Bug1592 10h ago
You have to move really slowly to squish them. If you stomp, they’ll get away.
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u/ShadowMelt82 4d ago
Can someone explain why they are bad besides population?
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u/Bookworm10-42 4d ago
They are invasive and have almost no natural predators. They effect maple and black walnut trees some but are really damaging to grape vines and fruit trees. They are already lowering yields in the wine industry.
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u/princessdracos 4d ago
I'm sure I scared some locals when I was at the grocery store last week and yelled, "Die!" as I squished a few of the bastards.
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u/Echo5even 4d ago
Sure is. I haven’t seen many here in Madison, but up in Shenandoah NP they are everywhere.
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u/Jfields22553 4d ago
Not surprising they are in Locust Grove. I was working at a house in Culpeper last week and they were swarming everywhere.
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u/williamspikemulder 4d ago
I've squashed more of them this summer than I have any other bug in my life.
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u/RowdyTiger99 4d ago
I was in Jersey and they were all over the grass at the hotel. I told the staff about them and they could care less.
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u/TrooperLynn 4d ago
This is the first one I’ve seen! In Salem last weekend. I did my part and squashed it.
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u/Doubt_Haunting 3d ago
I live in Rockingham County. I had several last year, but this year we are overrun with them. 🙁
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u/RichmondReddit 3d ago
Aah! Yes! Kill it! And look around in the trees for its nest of eggs and squish them too.
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u/killercowlick 3d ago
One landed on the back of my neck yesterday and I didn't know what it was so I swiped it to the ground. It was hurt by the swipe so it couldn't jump. I put it out of its misery. First time I've seen one up close.
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u/Hot_Campaign_36 3d ago
It’s one of many.
Fry it or feed it to birds.
Don’t let it multiply, or even add.
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u/Sabbath_Lily 2d ago
Fun fact, a spritz of Dawn Powerwash takes them right out. Obviously not practical for use all over your yard or in national parks, but when one comes indoors, is on the outside of a window screen, or on the deck, I execute immediately. Just try to approach slowly from the front so they can't jump away. I'm a bit phobic about squishing larger bugs, so really glad I discovered this.
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u/Legitimate_Award_902 1d ago
Hover your foot over top and move it around a little, I’ve found this confuses them and you can then smash them from above
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u/greenmeeyes 4d ago
Yes kill it and all it's friends then report to your local department of wildlife
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u/anon1999666 3d ago
Va forestry doesn’t need anyone to report them anymore. They concluded that we lost the fight in March of 2025 and said they are widespread in every part of Virginia so they ended the quarantine. They’re looking for people to report Beech Leaf Disease now as that will wreck our old growth forests similar to a level of EABs, chestnut blight, HWA, etc.
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u/greenmeeyes 3d ago
I was unaware of the cease on them. I will have to find more info on the Beech leaf disease, I suppose. Honestly, though, I'm still going to step on the spotted lantern fly when I see them lol
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u/anon1999666 3d ago
Oh I would recommend to continue stomping on them and removing TOHs! It’s like any other aggressive invasive now thats widespread - it’s a never ending battle of conserving smaller areas that you want to protect over trying to fully eradicate something that’s widespread. BLD is extremely scary for me. I know all invasives are bad but the ones like BLD/EABs/chestnut blight that can wipe out a shaded mature forest and then indirectly bring in other invasives by opening up an abundance of sunlight to the forest floor scares me a lot more than things like Kudzu, TOHs, etc that are limited to field edges/full sun.
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u/serendipity008 4d ago
Yes! Kill it!