Spotted lanternflies gather on a tree in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 2019.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

At a Glance

The insect from Southeast Asia was first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014.They are a threat to tree fruit, timber, hops and grapes that supply Pennsylvania's wine industry. They appear to have no natural enemies in the U.S.Fourteen counties in Pennsylvania and eight in New Jersey are under quarantines.

When it comes to killing the spotted lanternfly, folks in Pennsylvania are getting creative.

Oh sure, anyone can use a fly swatter to smash the distinctive insect with black spots and a slash of red on its wings. But how about a blowtorch? Or a 10-foot pipe ?

A 14-year-old in Montgomery County killed more than 1,200 of them over two days with, WFMZ reported.

Unfortunately, other than humans, the 1-inch-long insect doesn't appear to have natural enemies in the U.S.

And for every new method of killing the invasive species, there are millions of spotted lanternflies left to destroy nearly $18 billion worth of Pennsylvania agriculture, including tree fruit, timber, hops and even grapes that supply the state's wine industry.

(MORE: Wild Horses Swept to Their Deaths Off Outer Banks By Hurricane Dorian's Storm Surge)

"They've got a buffet out here," Heather Leach, an entomologist who does lanternfly outreach at Penn State Extension, told NPR. ", and they don't have anything that's taking them down. So they're having a good time! They're having a party, right?"

A spotted lanternfly sits in a vineyard in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 2019. The spotted lanternfly has emerged as a serious pest since the federal government confirmed its arrival in southeastern Pennsylvania five years ago this week.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper native to China, India and Vietnam. It probably arrived in the United States in a shipment of stones from China.

They were first discovered in Pennsylvania's Berks County in 2014. Since then, they have spread across much of southeast Pennsylvania and have been found in parts of Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia.

The spotted lanternfly, or Lycorma delicatula, feed on more than 70 types of trees and plants. They suck out the plants' fluids leaving them in a weakened state or even killing them. Their favorite food is tree of heaven, another invasive species that has spread widely in the Northeast.

They poop out a clear . In addition to being a real pain to anyone with a pool, deck or car, honeydew attracts black sooty mold that can also harm plants.

Spotted lanternflies are not known to bite, sting or attack people, but it can be disconcerting when thousands of them are crawling up a tree trunk.

Lori Beatrice told the Associated Press she and her husband have killed thousands, but “we’re outnumbered.”

"It’s just gross. It’s disgusting. It’s like waking up in a nightmare,” said Beatrice, who lives in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles from Philadelphia.

Just outside of Philadelphia, Julie Foster sells Spotted Lanternfly IPA at the Tired Hands Brewing Company she co-owns in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. She said she has used a blowtorch to “great effect.”

“I killed so many last summer that when I closed my eyes some nights, ,” Foster told the Wall Street Journal.

For folks who like to get competitive about these things, there's an app called Squishr.

Brad Line accepted his kids' challenge to build the app after they , the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

It's pretty simple, smash a lanternfly, take a photo and post it on the app. Each day the players with the most kills are listed on “Today’s Top Squishers."

The spotted lanternfly was first discovered in the U.S. in 2014.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

While killing the adults may take a tiny bit of skill, the eggs provide stationary targets.

This time of year, the swarms are laying eggs on just about any flat surface they can find. In addition to trees, the bugs lay masses of eggs on stones, cars, campers, yard furniture, farm equipment or any other items stored outside.

“We’re heading into the season where everyday people can have the greatest impact on what happens next year,” Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Shannon Powers told AP. “Every egg mass you scrape gets rid of 30 to 60 inspects that might hatch out next season.”

This year, the egg masses began showing up about a week earlier than last year, Dennis Calvin, an entomologist who serves as associate dean and director of special programs in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, told weather.com. Warmer weather speeds up the development of the lanternfly, he said.

The adults will continue to lay eggs up until the first hard frost, which was in early December last year.

"If that hard frost is delayed, we could see a longer egg laying period," Calvin said, adding that a warmer January could also mean fewer eggs die.

Those egg masses are also how someone could unknowingly haul a bunch of bugs to another location.

Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture that prohibits taking plants, plant-based materials and outdoor household items out of 14 quarantined counties.

Quarantines have also been enacted in eight counties in New Jersey, Mercer, Warren, Hunterdon, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem and Somerset; Frederick County in ; and all of New Castle County north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in .

Transport companies that pick up or deliver freight from the quarantined areas must get permits certifying they have been trained to , the Wall Street Journal reports.

(MORE: Researchers Predict Spread of Invasive Marine Species As Global Maritime Shipping Increases)

Scientists from Penn State, Cornell University and elsewhere are testing chemical and biological methods to control the spread of the insects, too.

They're looking at a native fungi that may have killed some lanternflies in Berks County, AP reported. Another possibility being explored is Dryinus browni, tiny wasps that are natural enemies of the insect in China, according to NPR.

In the meantime, officials say caution — and restraint — will be needed in the continued war against the spotted lanternfly:

"Using a flamethrower or unleashing a horde of praying mantises, or napalm, or any of the other drastic measures folks have suggested and harm pets and humans and other crops," Fred Strathmeyer, Pennsylvania's deputy secretary for plant industry and consumer protection, told Philadelphia Magazine.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, .