By Sarah Beling, September 8, 2022

September may be upon us, but based on the many sightings around town it’s still the summer of the spotted lanternfly. As the invasive insects increase their infestation, local organizations and leaders have devised a new, somewhat MacGyver-like strategy for exterminating the bugs without squishing them.

Environmental educational nonprofit NYC H2O and City Council Member Gale Brewer appeared on NY1 Wednesday morning to show New Yorkers how to fashion their own makeshift tree traps that contain the spotted lanternfly until it runs out of food and dies. The organization hosted an event over the weekend to instruct and assist locals in making and installing traps around town.

Fashioned from a soccer cone and a small half-domed cone, mesh wiring, a ruler, staples and a plastic ziplock, the trap is meant to ensnare unsuspecting climbing lanternflies into a dead-end street. “They get stuck and they die,” said Matt Malina of NYC H2O. “They run out of food sources.” Intrepid exterminators can purchase the supplies at their local hardware stores, with a full video trap tutorial available on NYC H2O’s YouTube channel.

Despite pleas from the NYC Parks Department and State Department of Agriculture for New Yorkers to squish the spotted lanternfly on sight, the invasive species — a danger to walnut, grapes, hops, apples, blueberries and stone fruit plants — seem only to have multiplied over the summer.

Read more: https://w42st.com/post/squish-kill-spotted-lanternfly-soccer-cones/