Don't worry about bringing home lanternfly with your Christmas tree

Folks worried that the invasive and destructive spotted lanternfly will put a “bah humbug” into their holiday by taking up residence in their live Christmas tree shouldn't worry, say Penn State Extension experts. “Real trees are part of an outdoor ecosystem, and there is always a chance that insects may be brought indoors with a tree,” says Tanner Delvalle, a horticulture extension educator. “However, Christmas trees are not a preferred host for spotted lanternflies, so the probability of finding a spotted lanternfly or an egg mass on Christmas trees is low.”