A Simple Trick for Catching (and Killing) Spotted Lanternflies

Spotted lanternfly season is officially upon us. If you’re not seeing the adult planthoppers in a neighborhood near you, you may have seen them as nymphs in their third (black with white spots) or fourth (black and bright red with white spots) instar, so adulthood is just around the corner. These invasive insects are native to Asia and first popped up in Pennsylvania in 2014; as of July 2025, there are 11 states reporting active infestations, with more surely on the way.

Spotted lanternflies won’t hurt you (they don’t bite), but they can decimate native plant life, particularly grapevines, and their waste (known as honeydew) can cause mold to grow. Experts agree that they should be killed in any matter possible: As the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture once put it, “Kill it! Squash it, smash it … just get rid of it.” But that can be easier said than done: According to Smithsonian, when spotted lanternflies sense movement, they instinctually leap into the air, which can make stomping on them difficult. (It helps to attack from the front because they’re not great at launching themselves backward.)

Thankfully, there’s a simple trick for getting rid of these bugs if squashing, smashing, and stomping spotted lanternflies isn’t for you. All you need is a plastic water bottle.

1. The Bottle Trick
2. Other Spotted Lanternfly Killing Hacks
3. How to Kill Spotted Lanternfly Eggs

The Bottle Trick

Here’s how it works:

• Grab an empty plastic water bottle and remove the cap.
• Hold the open mouth of the bottle directly above a spotted lanternfly. The movement triggers their jumping reflex—and they launch themselves directly into the bottle.
• Repeat. If you need to take a break, put the lid back on the bottle so the bugs don’t escape.

You can watch Temple University’s iEcoLab test the hack in the video below (the pronunciation of water as “wooder” is a bonus).

Once you’ve got a bottle full of spotted lanternflies, all you have to do is put the water bottle in the freezer overnight, which will humanely kill the bugs. After that, you can compost them and use the same water bottle to catch some more.

Other Spotted Lanternfly Killing Hacks

There are plenty of other weapons in the fight against spotted lanternflies requiring varying degrees of commitment.

Vacuum Cleaner

Bottle not capturing enough SLFs for you? Cornell recommends using some kind of vacuum cleaner to suck them up. The bug typically don’t survive this process, but you might want to wait a couple of days to empty the bag or canister just in case. (Don’t wait for much longer, though, lest the insects start to rot—and stink.)

Homemade Sprays

Experts also recommend killing spotted lanternflies by spraying them with a mixture of water and dish soap, vinegar, or rubbing alcohol; this will work on both adults and nymphs. Unfortunately, these sprays aren’t as effective as insecticides.

Circle Traps and Sticky Bands

Another SLF-catching hack is a “circle trap,” which entails funneling spotted lanternflies into a plastic bag or container where they die. Penn State Extension has a video explaining how to make one of these traps:

Sticky bands have also been effective in catching spotted lanternflies, but other animals like birds can also get stuck if there’s not a proper barrier in place. If you want to use a sticky trap, there are some things you can do to make it a little safer:

• Make sure it’s 5 inches thick or less.
• Wrap a piece of mesh—something more like window screen, not chicken wire—around the tree above the tape and secure it with pins.
• Don’t forget to check it every day so you can take any other animals stuck in the trap to a wildlife rehabber.

Here’s a video showing how it’s done. 

Both of these hacks require some time and materials, so we wouldn’t blame you for sticking with the water bottle—or your feet.

How to Kill Spotted Lanternfly Eggs

After adult SLFs die in autumn, it’s time to look for the egg masses they’ve left behind and get rid of those, too, before they hatch the following year in May or June.

Spotted lanternflies will lay their eggs on pretty much any hard surface, whether it’s a tree trunk, a piece of playground equipment, or even your car. The masses are about 1.5 inches long and brown or grayish in color. When you find one, use a rigid card of some kind of scrape them off, then deposit the mass in a plastic bag with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer, which will kill any egg it comes in contact with. Put that bag in another bag and dispose of it. You can also smash the eggs—just make sure to apply even pressure so each egg bursts.

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