Jellyfish are out in force on the Atlantic Coast. Here’s what to know.

They’re squishy and pack a punch when they sting. And this year’s jellyfish bloom is hitting on Atlantic Coast beaches hard.

Although there are no firm stats on their numbers – because counting a jellylike creature as it moves in water is nearly impossible – there’s plenty of evidence from lifeguards, experts and swimmers that they’ve seen more jellyfish than usual at beaches in the D.C. region.

“This year is a particularly bad year, and it’s lasted a particularly long time,” said Jonathan Cohen, a professor of marine science at University of Delaware. “It’s as bad as I’ve ever seen it. To have this many for as long as we’ve had them is rare.”

What areas are affected?

There have been jellyfish sightings on the East Coast from Cape Cod in Massachusetts and parts of Maine to Bethany, Rehoboth and Lewes beaches in Delaware and Ocean City, Maryland – all popular summer getaways for Washingtonians.

In the Ocean City Maryland group on Facebook, there was running commentary this summer in a post that asked, “How are the jellyfish today?” One person wrote, “stingy.” And another said she was stung twice in one day.

What’s the situation, and how bad is it?

Lion’s mane, sea nettles and moon jellyfish are the types of jellyfish most likely seen in the mid-Atlantic’s waters.

“They’ve all been abundant” this summer, Cohen said.

At Delaware’s Lewes Beach, Strohm Edwards – captain of the beach patrol – said this summer his lifeguards have had more reports of stings “than I’ve ever seen” in his four years in the position. So far, there were 1,588 reports of jellyfish stings at Lewes Beach, compared with 295 in 2024.

“In all my years of lifeguarding on the beach,” Strohm said, “I don’t ever recall a year with this many jellyfish.”

Rich Szvitich, who is chief of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol and has worked there for 15 years, said his lifeguards have been treating 90 to 100 people a day for jellyfish stings. That’s a 50 % increase compared with past summers.

What’s causing the increase?

Typically, experts said, bumps in the jellyfish population are cyclic.

This spring and summer the region had more rain and warmer temperatures, which are ideal conditions for jellyfish. Rainwater pushes jellyfish out of inland estuaries such as the Delaware and Chesapeake bays, and with currents, they end up in the ocean.

“When it’s warmer, their metabolism speeds up, and they’ll grow and mature more quickly,” Cohen said. “Their life cycle increases, and you end up with more.”

What should you do if you get stung?

Most stings are minor, but anyone who gets stung and has trouble breathing or experiences chest pain or severe stomach pain should seek medical help. Beach lifeguards are often equipped to handle stings.

To treat a sting, wash the area, and then try a common remedy: Put a vinegar-and-water solution on the sting area, which helps to discharge the jellyfish’s tiny barbs from the skin.

Experts also recommend mixing baking soda with seawater to create a paste to apply to the affected area. They said a hydrocortisone cream can also help reduce the burning feeling and itching of a sting.

Should you avoid the water?

No need to stay out of the water over Labor Day weekend, experts and lifeguards said. Just watch yourself when swimming or wading.

As the water temperature drops, swimmers and beachgoers are likely to see fewer jellyfish. Plus, the recent Hurricane Erin also helped to wash some of the jellyfish farther from shore, experts said.

Cohen said jellyfish can’t swim well against currents, so if a storm brings in a large mass of water, the jellyfish are basically “swept away.”

“They can’t hold their position, so they get moved away with the storm,” he said, adding that there likely will be some jellyfish this weekend in the waters, but he’d be surprised if they “came back anywhere as strong as they were.”

Szvitich also said the hurricane helped “knock out” the jellyfish: “We’re hoping they stay away for a good, long weekend.”