Learn how I control invasive lanternfly nymphs by vacuuming them off my plants to protect fruit bushes and support native birds naturally.
In this post, I’ll walk you through my process of dealing with lanternfly nymphs (the younger lanternflies) on my plants. We have seen a huge population increase in the past two years and this invasive species is NOT under control. We even removed all of the Tree of Heaven trees on our property in order to help delay the population growth- the trees are gone, the bugs aren’t.
The nymphs are currently covering my blueberry bushes which unfortunately have another invasive vine growing up them. I’m trying to make a dent in their population by vacuuming them up, killing them, and then feeding them to the native birds.
FWIW- this might also work with Stink bugs, which to my knowledge are also invasive and problematic for fruit trees. The downside is the obvious stench that may take over your vacuum.
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How to Kill Lanternflies
Project Supplies
- Packing tape
- Small hand vacuum, this is mine… just strong enough to pull the bugs in without taking off living leaves: https://amzn.to/4nxafuM
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: First, you’ll need to gather your supplies. I used a cheap vacuum that is battery operated. I specifically chose one with not too much suction to avoid damaging the plants. Make sure to also have some tape on hand.
Make sure you can properly identify the lanternflies… there are lots of nice buggies we want to keep around, but these guys are pretty distinctive. I’m not an entomologist so if my pictures below suck or are missing something, whoops—- but these are nymphs and an adult. The young nymphs are black with white spots and they evolves into the “Deadpool Nymph” (my unofficial name- but right?!). And oddly… they look completely different as adults. It’s so weird.
Step 2: Identify the areas on your plants where the lantern fly babies are congregating. In my case, they were on a blueberry bush and some vines.
Step 3: Carefully use your vacuum to suck up the lantern fly babies from the plants. Be gentle to avoid harming the plants. Try not to capture native bugs in the process.
Put on your big girl pants because these like to hop and jump. You have to suck them up before they pop up and scare you.
Step 4: Once you have vacuumed up the lanternfly babies, remove the vacuum canister, and tape both ends of the container. This prevents them from escaping. Keep the filter in place as an extra precaution.
Step 5: Place the vacuum container in the freezer for 12-24 hours. The goal is to kill them by freezing. Some people choose to kill them individually with a needle, but I find freezing to be much easier and less time-consuming.
Step 6: After freezing the lantern fly babies, spread them among the bird seeds in your bird feeder. This helps introduce the birds to this new food source.
It’s difficult to determine if the birds will take to eating the lantern fly babies, but it’s worth a try. You’ll need to observe and see if they start picking at the new addition to the feeder. This method took me about five minutes and aligns with my goal to control the lantern fly population in my garden. I hope this guide helps you if you’re facing a similar challenge.
Now, as they say in one of my favorite LitRPG series, Dungeon Crawler Carl, “Get out there and KILL KILL KILL!” It’s an invasive species and if you don’t kill these bugs, they’ll devastate your garden, the environment and the worst- wine vines grape vines! Even if you only take out ONE BUG, you’re reducing the generations of babies that the one bug would have spawned.
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