Both UMD Extension and the Maryland Department of Agriculture do not want residents spraying insecticide to treat Spotted Lanternfly. It's not necessary to use a pesticide for these insects, as they do not cause serious damage to garden plants or wild trees, and using a spray will not remove enough lanternfly to impact the local population overall, since most will be well out of reach. They are widespread in Maryland (and our neighboring states) by now, so spraying will not provide population control. There is also no insecticide ingredient that is specific to lanternfly which would not also put other insects or other organisms at risk of harm.

Miri

On 06/13/2024 10:01 AM EDT Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

 

 

You're welcome.
The flier might have been several years old, when SLF was newer to our region and MDA messaging and management efforts to slow their spread focused on killing any SLF that were found. Lower-toxicity insecticide options are included at the bottom of the page we linked to, but their use is strongly discouraged, and like any contact-type insecticide, they will only affect lanternflies that are directly contacted by the spray. (That is, any dried spray residues have no impact, so cannot be used as a preventative to kill insects that walk over the treated area later.) Given how jumpy and shy lanternflies can be, moving away from disturbance or a person coming too close, successful treatment with such sprays is also unlikely.

Miri