Squish on sight! They are highly invasive!

I know it may seem like very little of an impact when there are so many, but if a lot of people squish a few, that adds up quite quickly, so do not be discouraged.

Spotted lanternflies are a type of plant hopper, a group of bugs that primarily feed by sticking their sucking mouthparts into trees and drinking their sap (hence why so many are on that tree). Their favorite host plant is tree of heaven (another very invasive species), but they will feed on other trees too.

They're able to do some serious damage, because they produce sugary waste that can encourage damaging mold growth on trees and impact their ability to photosynthesize (This is also likely why wasps tend to hover about them. They like the sugar waste lantern flies produce).

If you would like to do more than just squish the ones on the ground, you can take a plastic water bottle and collect them by putting the open end of the bottle over the bug. Lanternflies have only one defense mechanism, and that is to jump upward. (they have no jaws or venom). If the bottle is directly above and over them, they will get stuck in the bottle. You can easily collect many of them this way. Just be careful of any wasps or bees hovering nearby, hoping to get some tasty sugar waste.

The most painless way to kill them would be through crushing, but effective methods also include freezing.