The spotted lanternfly insect and why people are being encouraged to kill it immediately, explained

In Pennsylvania, a 2019 economic impact study estimated the spotted lanternfly, if uncontrolled, could cost the state at least $324 million annually and more than 2,800 jobs – across the state’s produce, wine, timber and plant nursery industries. The study’s worst-case scenario puts the losses as high as $554 million annually, and about 5,000 jobs.

Two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s counties are in a quarantine zone, meaning many businesses must get a special permit, earned after employees are trained to spot the insects and not to transport them elsewhere. Parts of Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia are among other states with quarantine areas requiring permits too.

No matter how you kill the lanternfly, there is one goal: Stop the spotted invaders before they lay eggs and increase their population. “The spotted lanternfly is currently reaching its adult stage and will eventually begin laying egg masses that will hatch next spring,” says the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. “While the adult spotted lanternfly cannot survive the winter temperatures, the egg masses are not affected.”