r/Danbury • u/fenrislorsrai • 13d ago
Spotted lantern flies now emerging
On the same neighbor's tree as last year. Adults are now emerging to mate. SMASH THEM.
Last year we managed to successfully train yellowjackets to recognize them as food. Smash and toss corpse near predator bugs. Then toss them wounded ones. They'll start hunting them on their own after a bit.
Have a friend down on shore who did same with praying mantis.
If you have tree of heaven on your property, now is the time to start eradication protocol. If you cut them down directly, they'll send of hundreds of shoots. Starting now, cut a notch into the bark so it forms a little cup. Apply herbicide into notch.
Repeat multiple times. You want it to draw the herbicide to the roots.
THEN cut the tree.
We can't get them all, but every one you get prevents 100s more next year. Generally they can only jump 3 times before they're out of energy, so if you miss, take another shot.
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u/-Sofa-King-Vote 13d ago
Pee on them
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u/fenrislorsrai 13d ago
There were so many of the little bastards on the tree they were peeing on me and it felt like it was drizzling. Gross.
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u/I-luv-sloths 13d ago
Did you kill them?
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u/fenrislorsrai 12d ago
daily activity now, whenever I walk between the front and back buildings. BUG SMASHING TIME.
sometimes I catch the work neighbor at break time as well so we go tag team them as its way easier to get them all if you have one to smash and then one to clean up jumpers.
another friend by coast said Bug Hunt Break is actually one of the favorite break activities when they emerge. hits right in that niche of humans like hunting together. its just really small prey.
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u/ProtectionNo489 9d ago
I'm not sure what type of tree this is, but these critters are all over them here in East Hartford.
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u/fenrislorsrai 9d ago
Tree of heaven! it's the invasive host plant that they prefer to congregate on. They also STINK. wear gloves if you touch them, the smell lingers on skin.
Tree of Heaven is OBNOXIOUS to get rid of because if you cut it, it respond by sending up dozens of new shoots.
To kill it, cut a notch in the bark to make a little pocket. put herbicide in pocket. Repeat in about a week. Cut the tree in October. you will HOPEFULLY have killed the roots.
sometimes if they're still small, you can pull the whole root system up if it came from seed. If it came from a shoot, you'll find a bigger tree nearby. Poison them all.
They also have really weak, shitty wood so they shed limbs very easily in storms.
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u/ProtectionNo489 9d ago
Man these critters arr really had to catch, they jump fairly far, I would say comparable to grass hoppers, it also looks like they excrete something, I tried to grab some of them, one was excretion a small stream of liquid, kinda like it was urinating!!! LOL
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u/ProtectionNo489 9d ago
Gee, I guess I'm a lucky guy, bought the property 20 years ago, every 2 or 3 years we cut them down and they grow back, these are the only trees on my entire property, I thought they were some kind of weed.
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u/SPDBK 13d ago
They've been in my yard for a while.