A couple of years ago we got word of a new invasive species around here, and were told to kill any examples we saw. The spotted lanternfly hails from China, eats crops, trees and ornamental plants, and has no known predators here in the states. The first one I remember seeing in the flesh was actually up outside of Philadelphia buying steel with Brian for the bus project; we saw it flitting past us and land on the pavement in a parking lot. After squishing it, we reported it to the local hotline and went on our way.

Last week we began noticing small bugs on our grape arbor and trees; black with white spots, they weren’t familiar to either Jen or I. A little research revealed they are spotted lanternflies and that they love grapes. There is no good way of killing them; you have to smash them when you see them, and the little fuckers jump when they see you. The arbor is covered with them. There’s no commercial pesticide that will kill them. So, I guess we’re screwed.