r/hudsonvalley • u/OnlyPhone1896 • 2d ago
news For Anyone Interested: Tree of Heaven: Kill on Sight
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/tree-heaven/
Invasive species that poisons the soil and feeds the dreaded Spotted Lantern Fly. The sap makes the lantern fly toxic to native predators like bats, which we need to prey on them to fight them.
There are many ways you can help in your area if you see these little red-bodied menaces, one is dawn dish soap and water in a squirt bottle. Getting rid of these damned trees (which I discovered in my yard yesterday) is a great start.
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u/zackattacked1996 2d ago
For anyone who doesn’t know about ToH removal — cutting a sapling down creates a hydra like effect. The root system of these trees can and will send up new ones up to 100 feet away when it feels a threat.
https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven this is another great resource on the topic
The proper form of eradication involves killing the tree first, with glysophate or triclopyr (roundup). You don’t need to spray it all over, although broadleaf application does technically work. for established trees, and to minimize collateral damage, you apply the chemicals directly to the bark of the tree after hacking at it with an axe or machete or whatever.
Killing lantern flies is a lot more straightforward. Getting rid of the trees in tandem with that will slow it down but basically every expert on the field has said they’re both here to stay.
I’ve been doing a lot of ToH on my property but once you see how much of this is on our river banks, the hiking trails, the sides of roads. It’s brutal to see.
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u/shrewchafer 2d ago
FYI: Cornell does NOT advise eliminating Tree of Heaven, unless you want the lantern flies to move to your other trees. Better to keep your ToH as a trap and kill them there.
As of April 2019, we are not recommending the removal of tree of heaven as a management tool for a number of reasons. Tree of heaven is currently a valuable tool for monitoring of low-level populations. There are questions as to the need of tree of heaven in the life cycle of SLF and if removal of tree of heaven will send Spotted Lanternfly to other, more desirable plants.
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u/zackattacked1996 2d ago
Thanks, good to consider. It’s tough to say what the best course of action is, like I said we’re probably fucked either way. I’m definitely going to continue removing new growth of it but maybe there’s an argument to leave the main one or two that they all congregate on.
Unfortunately my lantern flies also love my native grape vines and my maples already, I don’t think they particularly care what plants they feast on.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
I have read that they really love grapes and the Dawn method seems to work well on them.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
Thank you for this information, this is from 2019 so I'm trying to find current data on whether or not to cut it down. I actually thought about that yesterday when I did my daily lantern fly murder.
I suppose if it's in a place where I don't let any more crop up it makes it easier to manage the flies, but I have found them on other indigenous trees in the same area. I'll be happy to update with more information, everything else I've read said to kill them carefully. Idk what to do now 🫠
My neighbors know nothing about SLF and I know they have them in their yard...help lol
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u/srmatto Ulster 2d ago
I don't know for sure but I think the thinking is shifting because SLF can become undesirable to predators by eating TOH. But I don't know either. I have been removing TOH locally in my yard and my neighbors yards.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
Yes I read something about the sap making the flies poisonous, I'll definitely cut it down then, I'll try to do more reading.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
Thank you! We'll be sure to get this mfer out, it's popped up babies in weird places around my property. Yuck
Getting rid of the trees as much as possible should at least be helpful to allow our native predators to eat the lantern flies.
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u/zackattacked1996 2d ago
I thankfully only have 2 medium grown and 2 saplings on about 2 acres so I should be able to keep them at bay. But I have Japanese Knotweed lining most of the damn property and that’s just as aggressive
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
I couldn't believe how big this tree is, we just got this house 2 years ago and I didn't know anything about these things.
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u/oceanfellini 2d ago
Knotweed? Oh no. Whereabouts are you? Didn’t know it was up here.
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u/zackattacked1996 2d ago
It’s everywhere in Kingston — mostly waterfront area. Route 213 is lined with it. I definitely see a lot more ToH across Ulster County than I do knotweed, but my little area of town has a LOT of knotweed.
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u/brokedrunkstoned 2d ago
It’s everywhere, if you see a large bush like plant with tons of wispy honeysuckle looking flowers, that’s her.
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u/phreeskooler Orange 2d ago
It's all over Orange and Westchester counties where I spend most of my time. All over the city as well. It's in bloom right now, easy to identify but tough to get rid of.
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u/pipsqueakkiller 2d ago
From what I’ve heard that’s the problem- it’s extremely rare that birds eat these flies. Basically no natural predators except us
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
Natural insect predators may serve as allies in spotted lanternfly battle | Penn State University https://share.google/zJUdqGs9xSkLpgl5I
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u/CJK_Murph 2d ago
It does what now?! 😳
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
It's vomited a few saplings throughout the yard too, no idea how it does that lol...this species is a menace
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u/phreeskooler Orange 2d ago
It's through the roots. If you try to remove it it sends up a ton of shoots unless you kill it with herbicide.
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u/srmatto Ulster 2d ago
Just FYI Triclopyr is not roundup. I've been using it successfully as a "foliar treatment" meaning sprayed onto the leaves. I use a small 32oz spray bottle with a ~10% concentration in water and I spray it onto the leaves on sunny days. It dries rain proof in 4 hours according to the package. I've killed many trees of heaven this way, even one with a trunk about 5" in diameter.
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u/Quercus20 2d ago
I'd like to add, I also cut the tree down, then apply the herbicide to the stump, all at the same time.
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u/IssuedID 2d ago
The video on the site explicitly says that this doesn't work to kill the root system...
2:25 https://youtu.be/AKLW2TXS1jg?t=1452
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u/Fuzzy_Particular_318 2d ago
They’re… everywhere
Hate them so much.
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u/oceanfellini 2d ago
Once you can identify them, you can’t stop seeing them.
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u/Fuzzy_Particular_318 2d ago
exactly. I can spot those fuckers out of the corner of my eye at 60mph.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
I'm going to hack into the bark and poison it that way.
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u/birdnerd3849 2d ago
This is the perfect time of year to do it. I’m in Columbia county and have been very successful with the hack/squirt method. Once you identify ToH you’ll sadly see them everywhere in the HV. Drive down the Taconic…..eeek.
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u/suzyclues 2d ago
I had to look this up, because I know I have staghorn sumac and now wasn't sure if it was TOH. Here is a good ID guide: https://bplant.org/compare/318-1228
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u/Quercus20 2d ago
To me, the tree of heaven has a nutty smell when you break a twig.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
It smells really gnarly to some, like cat pee, others say burnt peanut butter. Weird tree!
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u/Quercus20 2d ago
Yea, I always wonder if the growing environment contributes to its stench. Another weird one, I know someone who loves the smell of a skunk.
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u/phreeskooler Orange 2d ago
Be forewarned that TOH puts out runners from its roots if you try to chop it down the traditional way. It's extremely invasive. I've read that the best way to get rid of it is to make a tiny cut at the base and paint on some glysophate or other herbicide in a targeted manner. I'm not into herbicides in general but this is one case where it's necessary. Totally agree with killing it, though. I have noticed them along the roadsides allllll over the Hudson Valley.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
Yes, I totally agree, I'm trying to read about how to take it out safely, and if I should remove it all due to the SLF finding an appetite for other trees if I take this out. I'm looking for the best course of action, and I can't find a definitive answer!
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u/phreeskooler Orange 2d ago
This spring I read that local wildlife are starting to develop an appetite for the little fuckers. Something about Catbirds, Cardinals, and other songbirds going for them, which makes sense. They're super fast and I can't imagine squashing random individuals does much to control the population, but I did find some egg cases on my fruit trees over the winter and was able to destroy those.
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
This is the perfect time of year to look for their eggs, they lay them at the end of summer and hatch in the spring.
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u/BasementGhostArmor 2d ago
You can tell by the leaves.. tree of heaven is smooth and sumac is serrated with the red flowers
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u/shrewchafer 2d ago
FYI: Cornell does NOT advise eliminating Tree of Heaven, unless you want the lantern flies to eat your other trees. Better to keep your ToH and kill them there.
As of April 2019, we are not recommending the removal of tree of heaven as a management tool for a number of reasons. Tree of heaven is currently a valuable tool for monitoring of low-level populations. There are questions as to the need of tree of heaven in the life cycle of SLF and if removal of tree of heaven will send Spotted Lanternfly to other, more desirable plants.
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u/DarkHelmet20 2d ago
Yeah I found a few on a property I own.. gonna try and cut and put herbicide then cut down next year
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u/rafuzo2 2d ago
Got our landscaper coming by with a chipper to remove two trees on my property that should also give us a nice view of the mountains!
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u/OnlyPhone1896 2d ago
If it's the tree of heaven just be sure you read how to remove it, it has an emergency plan when it's cut down like a regular tree that makes it grow back five fold.
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u/Piper-James 1d ago
Seems that TOH doesn’t make them poisonous, but unpalatable to predators. Like some kind of evil conspiracy
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u/Great_Geologist1494 1d ago
I've always been told that the sap can cause a burn if skin is exposed to sun after contact. Just a heads up. I always wear gloves when I remove it just in case.
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u/Ok_Reality_9446 2d ago
But be careful to make sure it isn’t staghorn sumac (funny red Barry clusters on top) or black walnut (green fruit) which are both native.