Spotted lantern fly eradication - Ask Extension
Help! I was just walking around my yard and saw dozens of spotted lantern flies on one maple tree and several on another. Is there a spray I can use...
Knowledgebase
Spotted lantern fly eradication #880240
Asked August 05, 2024, 11:58 AM EDT
Help! I was just walking around my yard and saw dozens of spotted lantern flies on one maple tree and several on another. Is there a spray I can use on them? I know they're very fast, so trying to swat them won't so any good. I'm horrofied to see so many of them in one place!
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
Don't be horrified. While we are just starting to see them for the first time, we now know, from areas where they first arrived that they are not of great concern and are not expected to harm people or plants (other than grapes). For that reason, we do not recommend spraying any pesticides or other chemicals, which can harm non-target beneficial organisms. (Also, spraying chemicals in high heat can burn foliage and in certain cases drift far from the application site).
Here is our page on them:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spotted-lanternfly-home-gardens/
We expect them to be nuisance insects for a time (similar to brown marmorated stinkbugs in the 2000s).
The areas of Maryland where they first arrived in large numbers, don't have many now.
Christine
Here is our page on them:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spotted-lanternfly-home-gardens/
We expect them to be nuisance insects for a time (similar to brown marmorated stinkbugs in the 2000s).
The areas of Maryland where they first arrived in large numbers, don't have many now.
Christine
Hi Christine,
Thanks so much for your quick response! I was afraid the spotted lantern fly was like the emerald ash beetle and was going to destroy all of our foliage. Good to know they will go away eventually. I hardly see any stink bugs anymore. I'm guessing the black spots on the maple leaves are some other issue?
Mimi
Hello Mimi,
Yes, spotting on maple leaves would be an unrelated issues, and fortunately, also probably minor and something that will not impact long-term tree health. While we can't always diagnose the exact organism responsible for leaf spot diseases from photos, you're welcome to share pictures of any concerning symptoms and we'll try to determine what is affecting the tree. (If black soot-like mold is covering leaves in large blotches, more so than individual spots, it might be the aptly-named sooty mold, a fungus growing on insect honeydew which is not a threat to the tree in that it does not cause plant disease. The linked page provides more information about that phenomenon.)
Miri
Yes, spotting on maple leaves would be an unrelated issues, and fortunately, also probably minor and something that will not impact long-term tree health. While we can't always diagnose the exact organism responsible for leaf spot diseases from photos, you're welcome to share pictures of any concerning symptoms and we'll try to determine what is affecting the tree. (If black soot-like mold is covering leaves in large blotches, more so than individual spots, it might be the aptly-named sooty mold, a fungus growing on insect honeydew which is not a threat to the tree in that it does not cause plant disease. The linked page provides more information about that phenomenon.)
Miri
Thank you so much! You guys are great!
You're welcome!
