Spotted Lanternfly Around Avon: Ohio's Quarantine and Your Trees

How long has spotted lanternfly been in Lorain County?

Spotted lanternfly reached Ohio in 2020, and OSU Extension in Lorain County reports it was first reported in the county in 2022 and has turned up every year since. Cleveland-area news has followed its spread across the region, and by 2026 the Ohio Department of Agriculture had extended its quarantine to the whole state.

The insect is native to Asia and spreads mostly by hitching rides. Egg masses on cars, trailers, stone, pallets and outdoor gear travel far faster than the insects can hop or fly, which is how a pest first seen in one corner of the state shows up along the lakeshore a couple of years later.

Lorain County sits on the I-90 and Ohio Turnpike corridors, with rail lines, quarries and nurseries in between, so it was never likely to stay clear. Tree-of-heaven, the favorite host, grows along rail lines, highway shoulders and vacant lots across the region.

Before the statewide order, 18 Ohio counties were already quarantined, including Lorain and Cuyahoga. On February 17, 2026, ODA made the quarantine statewide, covering all 88 counties.

What does Ohio's statewide quarantine mean for you?

Ohio is under a statewide spotted lanternfly quarantine (since February 2026). It mainly regulates moving items like nursery stock and trees out of Ohio, which requires an ODA compliance agreement, permit or inspection certificate. For homeowners, the practical part is checking vehicles and outdoor gear for egg masses before travel. Check ODA for current rules.

Businesses feel the quarantine most. Nurseries, landscapers, tree services and anyone shipping regulated items such as nursery stock and trees to places outside Ohio should contact ODA's Plant Pest Control Section about inspections and certification before loads leave the state.

Homeowners have a simpler role. Before a trip, a move or hauling patio furniture or a camper out of state, walk around the vehicle and gear and look for egg masses. Neighboring states are watching for this pest too, and an egg mass on a trailer is exactly how it reaches new places.

Quarantine rules can change as the insect spreads, so check the Ohio Department of Agriculture's spotted lanternfly page for the current version rather than relying on an older news story.

How do you recognize each life stage?

Look for four stages. Egg masses are flat, gray, mud-like smears laid in fall. Young nymphs in late spring are small, black and white-spotted, older summer nymphs turn red with black and white markings, and adults from about July are roughly an inch long with tan, black-spotted forewings and red hind wings.

Adults rest with their wings folded, so the red stays hidden until they move. From a few feet away, a group on a trunk looks like a cluster of gray-brown moths. Tap the bark and they jump rather than fly far.

Clues often come before you spot the insect. Shiny, sticky honeydew on a deck, car or patio under a tree, black sooty mold growing on that honeydew, and wasps or bees drawn to the sweet residue all point to heavy feeding overhead.

Red late-stage nymphs are sometimes mistaken for young boxelder bugs, which are also red. Boxelder bug nymphs are flatter, lack the bold white spots and cluster near boxelder seeds or sunny walls, while lanternfly nymphs crowd onto the stems of tree-of-heaven, grapevines and other hosts. A clear photo sent to OSU Extension in Lorain County can settle any doubt.

Which trees and plants does it feed on around Avon?

Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is its preferred host, and heavy populations usually build there first. It also feeds on grapes, maples and many other trees, vines and shrubs. Around Avon that means backyard maples, young landscape trees in new subdivisions and home grapevines, while vineyards along the Lake Erie shore are a concern for growers.

Tree-of-heaven is easy to miss because it resembles sumac or black walnut. It has long compound leaves with a small notch near the base of each leaflet, grows fast in disturbed ground, and smells like rancid peanut butter when you crush a leaf or twig. Look along fence lines, alleys, rail corridors and vacant lots.

Removing tree-of-heaven is not as simple as cutting it down. It resprouts hard from roots and stumps, so a cut tree often comes back as a thicket. Talk with an arborist or OSU Extension about removal methods before you start.

For most yards, lanternfly is a nuisance rather than a killer of shade trees. Healthy maples usually tolerate the feeding, but stressed young trees and grapevines can suffer, and honeydew under a busy tree makes decks, cars and outdoor furniture sticky and moldy.

Which steps can a homeowner take without a technician?

Most homeowner work is simple. Scrape egg masses from fall through spring into a bag or container of rubbing alcohol, squash nymphs and adults you can reach, check vehicles and outdoor gear before travel, and deal with tree-of-heaven on your property. Avoid bare sticky bands, which also catch birds and other wildlife.

Egg masses are the highest-value target, because each one holds dozens of future insects. Fall and winter, when leaves are down, are the easiest months to find them on smooth bark, stone walls, fence posts and the backs of signs.

Homeowner sprays have a place on small plants, but large trees are hard to cover from the ground, and drift onto gardens or a neighbor's yard is a real risk. That is where a technician with the right equipment and label knowledge makes sense.

• Use a plastic card or putty knife to scrape egg masses into a zip-top bag with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer, then seal and toss it.
• Check the undersides of trailers, campers, boats and grills before they leave home.
• Choose circle traps (screened funnel traps wrapped around a trunk) instead of open sticky bands.
• Hose honeydew off decks and patio furniture before sooty mold takes hold.
• Do not spray trees or flowering plants while bees are working them, and follow every product label.

When is professional lanternfly treatment worth it?

Call for treatment when adults or nymphs cover the trunks of several trees, honeydew is coating decks or cars, or tree-of-heaven on the lot keeps drawing new waves. Around Avon, spotted lanternfly treatment for host trees and egg-mass removal is estimated at $150–$400 per visit, confirmed and approved before any product is applied.

A visit starts with a walk of the property to find host trees, egg masses and the trunks where adults gather. Treatment then targets those hosts with labeled products used the way the label allows, timed to when nymphs or adults are feeding. Egg masses within reach are scraped and destroyed.

Timing matters more than frequency. Early-summer work catches nymphs before they mature, and late-summer work cuts down the adults that would lay the next round of eggs. Many yards need a visit or two in a season, not a standing schedule.

The technician explains pet and family precautions for each product, and every visit ends with a written service report listing what was found, what was applied and where. See spotted lanternfly control for details, or call (855) 974-4733.

How is spotted lanternfly different from the stink bugs on your siding?

Spotted lanternfly is a planthopper that feeds on tree sap outdoors and does not try to winter inside your house. Stink bugs, boxelder bugs and lady beetles are fall invaders that crawl into walls to overwinter. Lanternfly adults may land on siding near infested trees in fall, but they die off with hard frost and leave eggs behind.

The control plans differ too. Fall invaders are handled by sealing gaps and treating exterior walls before September; lanternfly is handled at the host trees and the egg masses. If you are dealing with both, the stink bug and boxelder bug guide covers the house side.

Neither one bites or stings people or pets. Both are nuisances, and both respond far better to good timing than to a panicked spray in October.

Where around Avon are you most likely to find lanternflies?

Look wherever tree-of-heaven grows and wherever vehicles and materials arrive from elsewhere. Around Avon that means highway edges along I-90 and the Nagel Road and SR 83 interchanges, commercial lots along Detroit Road, nurseries and landscape yards, and the wooded fringes of new subdivisions. Grape arbors and backyard maples are worth checking from July on.

Parks and trails deserve a glance too. Wooded edges near French Creek Reservation in Sheffield Village and along the Black River can hold tree-of-heaven, so check trunks near parking areas before loading bikes or coolers back into the car.

Neighbors in Sheffield Village, North Ridgeville and Westlake deal with the same insect, and a heavy population on one lot spills onto the next. Comparing notes with the people next door, and clearing tree-of-heaven along shared fence lines together, does more than one yard can manage alone.

Businesses with loading docks, outdoor storage or trucks that cross state lines should add a quick egg-mass check to their fall and winter routine. A commercial pest control visit can include a look at trees and stored materials around the building.