Scrape For The Grape Volunteers Fight Invasive Insect Threatening NoVA Wine Industry

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — An effort to combat the pesky spotted lanternfly — an invasive insect threatening Loudoun County's rural industry — was again a smashing success, or should we say, a scraping success.

Scrape for the Grape, held over several weekends in late March and early April, brought volunteers to different locations around the county to scrape spotted lanternfly egg masses.

Volunteers old and young came out to remove the invasive insect eggs. For instance, 9-year-old Jude Schuster was proud to surpass 1,000 egg masses removed.

"My favorite part was when my cup was filled to the tippy top, with 1001 scraped egg sacs and I was going to dump it in a bin, and I was very proud of myself," Jude said.

This was the second annual Scrape for the Grape organized by the Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance, a coalition of homeowners associations addressing invasive species, Visit Loudoun, and Virginia Cooperative Extension Loudoun. According to Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance president Mike Littman, volunteers scraped 181,058 spotted lanternfly egg sacs.

Based on an estimate of egg sacs each containing 35 eggs, that would equate to 6,337,030 spotted lanternfly eggs that will not hatch. That's six times as many as the lanternfly eggs removed at last year's event.

"The goal of Scrape for the Grape is to both create community awareness of the issues associated with invasive plants and species, as well as to convey the negative impact they have on our rural economy," Littman said in a statement to Patch. "Based on this year’s exponential growth of volunteers, host sites and spotted lanternflies that were eliminated, I’d say we exceeded our expectations."

The volunteer effort seeks to put a dent in the spotted lanternfly egg masses before they start hatching.

According to the Virginia Cooperative Extension, adult spotted lanternflies lay eggs in September until the cold weather kills them off. These eggs remain during the winter and typically hatch between mid-April to early May. The young nymphs turn into adults as the warmer season progresses, and the cycle of egg laying continues.

Volunteers also tagged 391 Tree of Heaven for removal. The invasive spotted lanternflies prefer the invasive Tree of Heaven as a host, but they will advance to crops like grapevines and fruit trees.

There was a noticeable presence of the spotted lanternflies around neighborhoods and wineries in Loudoun County during the warmer season in 2024. The impact on agricultural crops has caused concern for Loudoun's rural businesses, especially its vibrant wine industry.

"The [spotted lanternfly] is a problem for Loudoun vineyards," said Stephen Fortier, owner of Domaine Fortier Vineyards. "The volunteers were efficient and thorough in removing the egg masses from our end posts and in-line posts, and we were delighted with the results. Other wine regions would benefit from their own Scrape for the Grape!"

Nancy Deliso, co-owner and general manager at 868 Estate Vineyards, noted that Scrape the Grape creates a sense of community between small businesses and residents.

"Once people come out to see our grapevines, enjoy the fresh country air, and spend time in the vineyard, they better understand our role in the rural community," said Deliso. "The Loudoun vineyards so appreciate the volunteers helping us tackle the Spotted Lanternfly issue."

Across the several weekends of removing egg masses, 767 volunteers registered to help out, which was well above the approximately 400 volunteers at the 2024 event.

Volunteers ranged from elected officials and volunteers from Amazon to families with children. Loudoun County Supervisors Laura TeKrony, Juli Briskman and Michael Turner volunteered this year, in addition to state Sen. Russet Perry. Supervisor Sylvia Glass participated in last year's event.

Amazon, which has data center locations in Loudoun County, served as the event's first platinum sponsor.

"Collaborating with the Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance, Visit Loudoun, [Virginia Cooperative Extension] Loudoun, the local vineyards, and community members on the Scrape for the Grape initiative exemplifies the power of working together," said Sarah Georgiades, head of community engagement for Amazon Data Centers. "We're grateful that our team could join neighbors, local officials, and agricultural partners in this one-of-a-kind, countywide effort."

Volunteers deployed to 19 different locations, including Leesburg's Ida Lee Park, wineries and other problem spots for the invasive insect.

"We just decided, let's go where we know where there's [spotted lanternfly] activity," said Littman.

Volunteers took pride in reducing the invasive insect's presence. One of the younger volunteers, 3-year-old Clark Glass, and his dad removed 169 spotted lanternflies, which the child declared is a "very big" number.

Residents also brought home knowledge of how to address harmful invasive species in their own properties and neighborhoods.

"Now that I’ve seen what the egg sacs look like, I know what to look for and what to do to get rid of [spotted lanternflies]" said volunteer Irene Zolnaski.

I’ll definitely be checking for egg masses in my yard, now that I know what I'm looking for," said Michelle Ehring.

To thank volunteers, wineries offered special promotions for volunteers during the weekends of March 29 and 30 and April 12 and 13. Children could receive a special event cookie from Mom's Apple Pie in Leesburg.

Along with organizing Scrape for the Grape, the Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance raises awareness about invasive plant species in Loudoun County.

Some of the common invasive plants found in the county are the Bradford Pear/Callery Pear, English Ivy, Japanese Stiltgrass and Garlic Mustard. The group advocated for a pilot grant program for invasive plant removal, which will later be developed as a permanent program.