Lynchburg’s insect invasion might injury your property

LYNCHBURG, Virginia. – Watch out, Lynchburg! An insect invasion is on the rise in Hill City.

Sarah Hagan, the Lynchburg city forester, is on a pest patrol, checking traps and trying to spot the spotted lantern fly.

“They don’t sting. They don’t bite. You don’t really fly. They’re more like hoppers and crawlers, but they’re an extreme nuisance, ”Hagan said.

The invasive insect is known to kill crops like grapes, peaches, and hops.

“They suck insects, so they pull the sap from the plants and then kill them that way,” said Joel Koci, an urban ranger with the Virginia Cooperative Extension, a group that monitors the infestation.

The spotted lantern fly releases this juice and creates a sticky honeydew.

“[The Honey dew] mold will grow so it will literally rain insect droppings on your car, on your deck, on your deck, ”Hagan said.

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Koci says the spotted lantern fly first came to the United States from China in 2014.

“Its egg masses are placed on flat surfaces. It came from rocks shipped to Pennsylvania, ”Koci said.

The errors settled in the Commonwealth in 2018 and were first reported in Lynchburg last year.

“Our best guess is that [the species] hitchhiking down here. I’m not entirely sure how, but at the moment the infestation is being linked to Norfolk Southern Rail, ”said Hagan.

Experts identified about two and a half miles where the beetles rode on the rails between Wards Road and Odd Fellows Road.

Hagan says they’ll start laying eggs in about a month, so they’re asking people to report where the insects are and where they aren’t in order to narrow down the search.

“Report it and take a picture too and crush it,” said Hagan.

You can find the registration website here.

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