How to Handle Spotted Lanternfly on Your Leesburg Property in 2026

Spotted lanternfly are hatching again across Leesburg. They’re tiny black nymphs with white spots that climb the trunks of maples, river birch, and grapevines that hatched from egg masses laid last fall.

In 2025, Virginia repealed its spotted lanternfly quarantine, and that change has confused a lot of residents into thinking the problem is solved when it isn’t. Spotted lanternfly is now firmly established across Loudoun County, and the nymphs emerging are already feeding their way through the area. What homeowners do now still plays a major role in slowing the damage.

Key Takeaways

• Spotted lanternfly is established in Loudoun County and hatches every spring from late April through June.
• Tree of heaven, along the Route 15 corridor and near Leesburg’s vineyards, is the primary driver of local SLF populations.
• Virginia’s quarantine was repealed in 2025, but scraping eggs, removing tree of heaven, and treating valuable trees still matter.
• Healthy trees usually survive SLF feeding, but stressed trees, young trees, and grapevines may need professional treatment.

The gray spotted forewings (left) and red hindwings (right) make adult spotted lanternflies easy to identify from late July through November.

What Is Spotted Lanternfly?

Spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive sap-feeding insect originally from Asia that was first confirmed in Virginia in 2018. It feeds on more than 70 plant species, including maples, birch, grapes, black walnut, and tree of heaven.

SLF weakens plants by feeding in large numbers and leaving behind sticky honeydew that attracts mold, wasps, and other pests. While healthy mature trees can usually survive moderate feeding, repeated infestations stress trees over time and can seriously impact vineyards, young trees, and already declining landscapes.

Spotted lanternfly produces one generation per year. Egg masses are laid from fall into early winter before hatching from late April through June. The black-and-white nymphs emerging in spring are the first stage of that yearly cycle.

Why Is Spotted Lanternfly a Problem in Leesburg?

Leesburg and greater Loudoun County offer nearly ideal conditions for spotted lanternfly populations to spread and sustain themselves.

Several local factors contribute to the problem:

• Dense tree of heaven populations along the Route 15 corridor provide a preferred host species.
• Loudoun County’s wine industry includes more than 50 wineries and over 850 acres of vineyards, creating a large continuous food source.
• Regional SLF populations are now too widespread to realistically contain.

The Town of Leesburg has actively tracked infestations through its invasive species mapping efforts, while Loudoun County’s “Scrape for the Grape” campaign removed more than 181,000 egg masses during its 2025 event alone—preventing an estimated six to nine million spotted lanternflies from hatching.

How Do You Identify Spotted Lanternfly?

You identify spotted lanternfly by recognizing the distinct look of each life stage, since the insect changes appearance drastically throughout the year. Here’s what to watch for and when:

• Egg Masses (September Through April): One to one-and-a-half inches long, gray or brown, and covered in a putty-like coating that often looks like a smear of dried mud on a tree trunk, stone, or piece of outdoor furniture. Each mass holds 30 to 50 eggs.
• Black and White Nymphs (Late April Through June): About the size of a pinhead to start, jet black with bright white spots. These are what you’re seeing on Leesburg trees right now, climbing trunks and gathering on new growth.
• Red and Black Nymphs (July): Larger, with vivid red bodies marked in black and white. The color shift is dramatic and unmistakable.
• Adults (Late July Through November): About an inch long. At rest, the gray forewings with black spots look almost moth-like, but the bright red hindwings flash in flight and are a dead giveaway.

Tree of Heaven is the spotted lanternfly’s preferred host plant and grows abundantly along Loudoun County’s Route 15 corridor.

What Is Tree of Heaven?

Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a fast-growing invasive tree species from Asia that spreads aggressively along roadsides, fence lines, wooded edges, and disturbed areas. It matters because it is the spotted lanternfly’s preferred host plant. Wherever tree of heaven thrives, SLF populations follow. In Loudoun County, the species is especially common along transportation corridors and unmanaged wooded areas, helping support large local lanternfly populations.

The Town of Leesburg has formally identified it as a major local invasive, and Loudoun County offers grants of up to $50,000 to help landowners remove tree of heaven and other invasive plants from their property.

Identifying tree of heaven is straightforward once you know the signs:

• Compound leaves with 11 to 25 leaflets, each with one to two distinct notches near the base.
• A strong, unpleasant smell that’s often described as burnt peanut butter or rancid cashews, when leaves or twigs are crushed.
• Native lookalikes include black walnut and sumac, which have similar compound leaves but lack the smell.

Removing Tree of Heaven is one of the most effective long-term steps you can take to reduce SLF pressure on your other trees. Our land and lot clearing services handle tree of heaven removal across Loudoun County.

What Should You Do If You Find Spotted Lanternfly in Leesburg?

If you find spotted lanternfly on your Leesburg property, take action in this order:

• Confirm What You’re Looking At: Use the photos in this guide or the Virginia Cooperative Extension – Loudoun’s identification resources. Misidentifying a native lookalike isn’t harmless, but you also don’t want to spend an afternoon spraying beneficial insects.
• Smash or Scrape What You Can Reach: Each egg mass eliminated prevents 30 to 50 nymphs from hatching. A simple plastic scraper, an old credit card, and a cup of soapy water will handle accessible egg masses. Spray bottles with soapy water work for nymphs and adults you can reach.
• Log It on the Leesburg Invasive Species Locator Map: State-level reporting to VDACS is no longer required in Loudoun, but town-level data still helps inform local management.
• Get Involved with Scrape for the Grape: The volunteer scraping program, organized by the Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance and Visit Loudoun, runs in March and April every year at vineyards and parks across the county, including Ida Lee Park in Leesburg. The 2026 events drew over 1,000 volunteers across multiple weekends.
• Assess Your High-Value Trees: Healthy mature shade trees typically tolerate SLF feeding. Stressed trees, young trees, and grapevines are a different story, and that’s where it’s worth getting a professional opinion.

What Are the Treatment Options for Spotted Lanternfly?

Treatment options for spotted lanternfly fall into three tiers, and the right one depends on your property and the trees you’re trying to protect:

• Mechanical Control (DIY-Friendly): Scraping egg masses from September through April and smashing nymphs and adults through the season is the most accessible approach and is most effective when done consistently and before populations grow.
• Contact Insecticides (DIY-Limited): Over-the-counter sprays kill on contact but offer no lasting protection. They only reach what you can hit directly, and broad-spectrum products can harm pollinators in the process.
• Systemic Insecticides (Professional): Trunk injections and soil drenches deliver insecticide through the tree itself, so SLF receives a dose only when it feeds. Generally, these methods have a lower impact on pollinators and natural enemies than foliar sprays, which makes them the preferred approach for high-value landscape trees.

A professional tree health management program makes sense for:

• High-value specimen trees, ornamentals, or trees stressed by drought, storm damage, or prior pest pressure.
• Properties with grapevines or properties bordering Loudoun vineyards.
• Properties with multiple SLF host trees, like maples, river birch, willow, and black walnut.

SLF rarely arrives alone. Bagworms, scale, emerald ash borer, and leaf-eating caterpillars all show up on Leesburg properties throughout the season. A full integrated pest management plan coordinates treatments so you’re not individually chasing each pest.

What Can a Certified Arborist Do About Spotted Lanternfly?

Most homeowners in Loudoun County will see spotted lanternfly activity at some point during the season. The bigger question is whether the feeding pressure is significant enough to threaten the long-term health of your trees or vines.

An ISA Certified Arborist can help by:

• Identifying which trees are genuinely vulnerable versus which can tolerate SLF feeding with minimal long-term impact.
• Monitoring for stress symptoms that may already be weakening the tree alongside spotted lanternfly activity.
• Timing treatments around local hatch cycles and adult feeding activity rather than relying on a generic schedule.
• Applying systemic treatments high in the canopy where homeowners typically cannot safely reach.
• Integrating SLF management into a broader tree health care plan that also addresses drought stress, soil conditions, and other insect or disease pressure.

Riverbend’s arborists work with property owners throughout Leesburg and Loudoun County to evaluate tree health, monitor pest pressure, and build long-term management plans for valuable shade trees, ornamental trees, and vineyards. If spotted lanternfly activity is increasing on your property this season, a professional assessment can help determine whether treatment is warranted or monitoring is enough.

Frequently Asked Questions About Spotted Lanternfly

Are spotted lanternflies still a problem in Virginia?

Yes. SLF is established across over half of Virginia’s counties and continues to spread. Virginia repealed the SLF quarantine in 2025 because containment is no longer realistic, not because the problem has been solved.

Do I still need to report spotted lanternfly in Loudoun County?

No. VDACS no longer requires reporting from Loudoun or other established counties, though it still encourages voluntary reports through its Invasive Species Reporting Tool to track spread into uninfested areas. Locally, you can log sightings on the Leesburg Invasive Species Locator Map to support town-level management.

Do spotted lanternflies kill trees?

SLF has not been documented to kill healthy, established landscape trees. Confirmed kills are limited to grapevines, tree of heaven, and black walnut saplings. SLF is best understood as a stressor that compounds drought or disease.

What trees do spotted lanternflies damage the most?

Tree of heaven is the preferred host, followed by grapevines and black walnut saplings. Maples, river birch, willow, and more than 65 other species are also commonly affected.

What is Scrape for the Grape?

Scrape for the Grape is a volunteer egg-mass scraping program launched in 2024 by:

• Visit Loudoun
• Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance (LIRA)
• Virginia Cooperative Extension – Loudoun
• Loudoun Wineries & Winegrowers Association

In 2025 alone, volunteers scraped over 181,000 egg masses, which prevented around six to nine million SLF from hatching.

When is the best time to treat spotted lanternfly?

Egg-mass scraping is most effective from September through April, before the eggs hatch. Targeted insecticide treatments work best in spring and early summer when nymphs are actively feeding and most vulnerable.

Targeted treatments from a certified arborist protect high-value trees while reducing impact on pollinators.

Combat Spotted Lanternfly in Leesburg with Riverbend Landscapes & Tree Service

The repeal of the 2025 quarantine didn’t change what works on your property. Scraping egg masses, removing tree of heaven, and protecting high-value trees with targeted treatment are still the right moves. Most healthy trees will tolerate SLF feeding without lasting harm. Stressed trees, young trees, and grapevines benefit from a professional eye and plan.

If you’d like an ISA Certified Arborist to walk your Leesburg property and recommend a tree health plan before populations peak in the summertime, request a free assessment from our team by calling 703-402-9366 today!