Hunters & Anglers Field Guide

HUNTERS &ANGLERS

You spend more time in SLF territory than almost anyone — and you move gear across county and state lines more than most. Here's what every hunter and angler needs to know about spotted lanternfly.

Hunters are early detection assets. Remote wooded areas often have SLF infestations for a full season before anyone reports them. Hunters who know what to look for can get critical data to state agencies months ahead of other detection methods.

Why Hunting and Fishing Puts You in SLF Territory

Understanding why hunters and anglers are specifically at risk helps you build the right inspection habits.

Remote Area Access

Hunters and anglers regularly access forested and riparian areas that are rarely visited by the general public. SLF can establish in these areas before any landowner or agency spots them — making outdoors people uniquely positioned to detect new infestations.

Transportation Corridor Exposure

Many prime hunting and fishing areas in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are adjacent to major highway corridors — exactly where SLF spread fastest. Stopping at a gas station or food stop in an infested corridor on the way to a new hunting area can pick up egg masses on your vehicle.

Extended Gear Deployment

Tree stands, ground blinds, bait stations, and game cameras left in the woods for weeks or months are sitting targets for SLF egg-laying. Unlike gear you take home daily, deployed hunting equipment accumulates egg masses through the entire fall laying season.

Multi-State Travel

Hunters who travel across state lines to follow deer seasons or fishing runs are moving through multiple SLF status zones. What's currently uninfested in your home county may not stay that way if gear from an infested zone comes back unchecked.

The Tree Stand Problem

Tree stands left in the woods from late summer through early spring accumulate SLF egg masses on every flat surface. When you pull them at the end of season and haul them home — or to a new property — those egg masses go with them.

When to Inspect

SLF lay eggs from late September through November. If your stand goes in before September and comes out after November, it was in the woods during the full egg-laying window. Any flat surface on that stand should be considered potentially egg-bearing until inspected.

Scraping method: Carry a plastic scraper (an old credit card or gift card works) and a small container of rubbing alcohol into the woods when you pull your stands. Scrape egg masses directly into the alcohol to kill them on-site before moving the stand.

Tree Stand Inspection Protocol

1
Inspect the seat, platform, and frame
Egg masses are commonly found on flat surfaces. Check the underside of the seat platform and all horizontal frame members. The weld joints at platform corners are a particularly common location.
2
Check the ladder sections
The flat rungs of ladder stands and the flat-sided rails of climbing stands are prime laying surfaces. Inspect every rung, front and back.
3
Examine straps and tie-in systems
Ratchet strap housings, cam buckles, and the flat surfaces of tree straps can hold egg masses. Check where the strap interfaces with the tree — SLF eggs are often found at that junction.
4
Inspect any cables or safety lines
Cable knots, anchor clips, and prusik hitch loops should all be checked. Egg masses on cables are easy to miss because they blend into the cable housing.
5
Scrape before moving — not after
Scrape any egg masses you find into a container of rubbing alcohol before you move the stand from the woods. Moving the stand first risks depositing eggs at your next location or in your vehicle.

ATV and UTV Inspection Checklist

ATVs and UTVs cover the most ground per trip of any hunting equipment — and they have dozens of flat, rough surfaces that SLF will use for egg-laying. Inspect these specific areas before and after every trip.

Undercarriage and frame rails

The flat bottom frame rails of ATVs and UTVs are heavily used egg-laying surfaces. Check before and after any trip through SLF-infested areas.

Wheel wells and tire sidewalls

Mud and vegetation debris in wheel wells can hide egg masses. Rinse or brush out wheel wells. Check tire sidewalls — SLF uses the flat tread shoulder area.

Cargo racks and boxes

The flat surfaces of rear cargo racks are ideal SLF laying sites. Check under the rack frame and inside cargo box edges.

Trailer hitches and receiver tubes

The flat surfaces inside trailer hitch receivers and the horizontal bar of a trailer hitch are frequently used. This is especially important if you're trailering your ATV across state lines.

Boat and Trailer Inspection

Anglers who fish different water bodies are among the most efficient spreaders of SLF — boat trailers in particular can carry egg masses hundreds of miles between launches.

Boat hull exterior (waterline and below)

Inspect the hull exterior, particularly along the keel and in any textured gelcoat areas. SLF will lay on any rough surface above the waterline.

Stern and anchor points

Check the stern corners, transom bracket mounts, and any horizontal surfaces near the waterline. Anchor rope cleats are a common location.

Boat cover and bimini

The underside of boat covers and bimini frames can harbor egg masses. Shake out the cover and inspect the bimini support arms before storage and before transport.

Trailer frame and bunks

The horizontal trailer bunks — the padded rails that support the hull — and the trailer frame channels are prime laying locations. Inspect the entire frame before moving the trailer to a new water body.

Bilge drain plug and bilge area

Check around the bilge drain plug and inside any accessible bilge area. Don't forget the exterior stern area around the plug.

Firewood Rules for Hunting Camp

Firewood is one of the primary pathways for SLF spread, and hunting camps present a specific firewood risk — wood is often hauled from home or purchased from an unknown source, then moved to a remote area that may currently be uninfested.

The rule: Don't bring it. Don't take it home. Buy where you burn. This applies to SLF, emerald ash borer, spotted lanternfly, and every other firewood-vectored pest. It's a universal rule that protects every remote area you hunt.

Firewood Protocol for Camp

1
Buy local, burn local
Purchase firewood within 10 miles of your hunting camp's location. This is the universal rule for invasive pest prevention, and it applies to SLF. The SLF life stage most commonly found on firewood is the egg mass — present from October through May.
2
Do not transport firewood from home in infested zones
If you live in an SLF-infested area, do not bring firewood from home to your camp — even if the drive is short. The risk of transporting egg masses on bark and log surfaces is real.
3
Inspect any wood from unknown sources
If you're using wood that was already at camp or came from an unknown source, inspect the bark surfaces — particularly the underside of logs — for egg masses before burning.
4
Know your state's firewood transport rules
Several SLF states have enacted firewood movement restrictions in quarantine zones. Check your state ag department's site for current rules before moving firewood across county lines.

Fly Fishing and SLF: Know Your Riparian Zone

The most common SLF insecticides — pyrethroids like bifenthrin and permethrin — are highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates and fish. Fly anglers who fish SLF-infested streams need to understand what may be in their water.

Pyrethroid Aquatic Toxicity

Bifenthrin and permethrin — the most commonly applied SLF insecticides — are highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates (mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies) and to fish at very low concentrations. Riparian application or rainfall runoff from treated properties into streams is a real concern in SLF zones.

What to Watch For

A sudden reduction in insect hatch activity, dead invertebrates on stream cobble, or reduced surface feeding activity can indicate pyrethroid contamination. If you observe fish kills or significant hatch disruption in a stream you know was previously healthy, report to your state's fish and wildlife agency.

Tree of Heaven Along Streambanks

TOH is common along stream corridors and may be the highest-density SLF host in riparian areas. If you're fishing a stretch with heavy TOH canopy in late summer and early fall, expect to find SLF adults feeding above you — and honeydew dripping into the water.

Anglers as Aquatic Biosurveillance

Fly anglers who know their water intimately are well-positioned to notice environmental changes associated with SLF pressure and related insecticide use. Document and report any abnormal aquatic conditions to your state fish and wildlife agency — your observations have value.

The Early Detection Opportunity

Hunters accessing remote areas are often the first people to encounter SLF in a new county. Early reports allow state agencies to respond while a population is still small.

Check the Current Spread Map

Before heading out, check our spread map or your state's SLF county map to understand if you're hunting in a confirmed, suspected, or uninfested area. This changes how urgently you should report a sighting.

Know What You're Looking At

SLF adults (August–November) are 1-inch moths with gray forewings spotted in black and red-banded hindwings. Nymphs (May–July) are smaller — early instars are black with white spots, late instars develop a red coloration. Egg masses (October–May) look like dried mud smears.

You're in Signal-Poor Areas

Document your sighting with photos and GPS coordinates (note your phone's location coordinates before you lose signal). You can submit your iNaturalist report when you're back in range — the GPS data is recorded offline.

How to Submit a Hunting Season SLF Sighting

A report from the field — with GPS coordinates and photos — is one of the most valuable contributions a hunter can make to the SLF containment effort.

Document Before You Kill

Getting a photo of a live SLF before killing it produces a better iNaturalist record than a crushed insect. If you can safely photograph it first, do so. A clear image showing the wing pattern is enough for community identification.

iNaturalist Submission Steps

1
Photograph before killing
Get one clear photo of the insect on its surface before you kill it. iNaturalist requires a photo for verification. A dead SLF on a white glove works too — just get the wings and head clearly visible.
2
Enable location services when submitting
GPS coordinates are what make your sighting scientifically valuable. If you're in the woods, your phone's GPS is accurate enough. The exact location is critical if this is a new county record.
3
Select "Lycorma delicatula" as the species
Type "spotted lanternfly" in the species field. iNaturalist will autofill to the scientific name. Community identification will confirm it within hours in most active SLF regions.
4
If it's a new county, also report to your state ag department
iNaturalist is for research data. State agency reports trigger field verification and official county confirmation. Do both if you think this is a new county record.

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