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Battling the bug: DEM recruits help in fighting invasive spotted lanternfly

The spotted lanternfly, an invasive bug from China, was first found in Rhode Island in 2021 and is now in nine cities and towns.

Providence Journal

The state Department of Environmental Management is recruiting landscapers, nursery and highway workers in its battle against an invasive bug that threatens to devour Rhode Island agriculture.

A DEM team of three people spent much of the winter hunting and killing eggs laid by the spotted lanternfly, and while they managed to destroy about 3,000 egg masses (each with about 25 eggs), they didn't kill them all, and the bugs remain a threat to trees and and plants, including apples, hops and grapes, in Rhode Island.

"It's more of an effort than our small section of agriculture can handle," said Cynthia Kwolek, a senior environmental scientist with the DEM's Division of Agriculture and Forest Environment

Native to China, the spotted lanternfly is believed to have arrived in America on a stone shipment in 2012. The first one in Rhode Island was discovered in August 2021. The bugs are now in 17 states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A spotted lanternfly photographed in Smithfield in September 2022. The invasive insect arrived in Rhode Island three years ago and poses a threat to trees and crops such as apples, hops and grapes.

More:An invasive insect has become a public nuisance in Pennsylvania. Now it's been found in RI

Pennsylvania has paid a high price

Pennsylvania, where the first spotted lanternfly was found in the United States, has suffered a lot since then. A Penn State study released in 2020 estimated economic damages due to the pest at $50.1 million per year with a loss of 484 jobs. Hardest hit were nursery operators, fruit growers, especially grape growers, and Christmas tree growers, the report said.

In Rhode Island, the stakes could be high, too. From 2017 to 2022, the number of farms and the amount of land used in farming increased in the Ocean State, bucking regional and national trends.

In 2022, total cropland in Rhode Island was 16,665 acres, the Rhode Island Food Council says, citing USDA census figures. Most of the land is used to grow hay and other forage, followed by vegetables, corn for animal feed and fruit orchards, the council noted.

The bugs spread into more Rhode Island towns last year

There's good and bad news for the Ocean State. Spotted lanternflies have not yet damaged any agricultural land in Rhode Island, but the bugs spread into several new towns and a new county, Kent, in 2023, according to Evan LaCross, a spokesman for the DEM.

Cumberland, Pawtucket, Providence, Johnston, Cranston and Warwick last year joined Smithfield, North Providence and Lincoln as locations where the bugs have been found.

Cynthia Kwolek, senior environmental planner in the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, says the state's priority in fighting off the spotted lanternfly right now is to "kill the females before they lay the eggs.”

Despite the DEM's efforts to find and kill spotted lanternfly eggs, Kwolek estimates that Rhode Island could face a population of some 10,000 of the bugs this summer.

A multifaceted effort to stop the bugs

In its continuing battle, the DEM early this summer will probably spray in areas where they found eggs to kill the lanternfly nymphs before they can become adults, according to LaCross. The DEM has sprayed with insecticides before. "We're hoping to probably spray around the same amount but be more targeted," Kwolek said.

The DEM is also meeting with landscaping companies, nurseries, produce growers and other outdoor occupations such as the Rhode Island Department of Transportation's highway maintenance division to teach them how to identify and destroy the bugs and their eggs.

Since the spotted lanternfly was discovered in Rhode Island three years ago, the DEM has spread the word, putting out messages that advise people how to identify and destroy the bugs. Kwolek believes that and the recent outreach to professional groups has been helpful.

More:The destructive spotted lanternfly is in RI. Inside the fight against an infestation

"A lot of people seem concerned," she said. "I think we're seeing a lot of good engagement."

Still, Kwolek knows the difficulty of trying to eradicate thousands of tiny bugs. "A victory in our eyes is biological control," she said. To that end, researchers are trying to find an enemy of the spotted lanternfly that can suppress their population. A small wasp shows promise, Kwolek said.

Until then, Kwolek said, the DEM, with help from residents and working people, will do what it can to keep the spotted lanternfly population down and away from important food sources.

She said, "Public awareness is probably key to preventing its spread to agricultural land."