What to do? - Ask Extension
How do I get rid of them
Knowledgebase
What to do? #885263
Asked September 14, 2024, 4:00 PM EDT
How do I get rid of them
Carroll County Maryland
Expert Response
Those are Spotted Lanternflies.
They are a new invasive insect for your area of Maryland.
Here is our page on them:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spotted-lanternfly-home-gardens/
It contains a link where you can report your sighting to the MD Dept. of Agriculture who is keeping tabs on their populations.
It's important to know that they will not hurt you and don't bite or sting. They are not the best fliers/jumpers though and could accidentally bump into or land on you for a moment.
While their numbers will be high for a while, they are primarily a nuisance insect and found not to be harming our trees or landscape plants other than grapes.
We are not recommending that people spray any pesticides to within the environment, which has the possibility of harming many beneficial, non-target organisms which are present.
Like the brown marmorated stinkbug before them, we expect (and are already seeing in other Maryland counties where they first arrived) their numbers to drop significantly in years to come.
Christine
They are a new invasive insect for your area of Maryland.
Here is our page on them:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spotted-lanternfly-home-gardens/
It contains a link where you can report your sighting to the MD Dept. of Agriculture who is keeping tabs on their populations.
It's important to know that they will not hurt you and don't bite or sting. They are not the best fliers/jumpers though and could accidentally bump into or land on you for a moment.
While their numbers will be high for a while, they are primarily a nuisance insect and found not to be harming our trees or landscape plants other than grapes.
We are not recommending that people spray any pesticides to within the environment, which has the possibility of harming many beneficial, non-target organisms which are present.
Like the brown marmorated stinkbug before them, we expect (and are already seeing in other Maryland counties where they first arrived) their numbers to drop significantly in years to come.
Christine
