8 Counties Added To PA Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine for Spring 2021

Warm spring weather is just around the corner, and that means Spotted Lanternfly nymphs will begin hatching. This typically happens around mid-May, so there’s still time for two important projects – scraping egg masses and getting your circle traps ready.

Egg masses can literally be anywhere, as the adult lanternfly are pretty sneaky! Good places to look are on trees along the edges of forested land, on wooden or metal posts, the underside of patio furniture and in the wheel wells of vehicles that might not have moved over winter.

In March, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced that eight counties have been added to Pennsylvania’s Spotted Lanternfly quarantine zone, which now includes 34 counties, ahead of the 2021 spring hatch.

Spotted Lanternflies can potentially hitch a ride on products and vehicles, thus moving into a new area and spreading the infestation. So, businesses who ship products inside and out of quarantined zones are required to have a Spotted Lanternfly Permit.

These permits demonstrate the businesses have working knowledge of this pest and the best practices to prohibit its spread.

Every Pennsylvanian needs to keep their eyes peeled for signs of this bug, scrape every egg mass, squash every bug, and report every sighting.

The new eight counties include:

• Cambria
• Cameron
• Franklin
• Lackawanna
• Montour
• Pike
• Wayne
• Westmoreland

Last spring Pennsylvania quarantined 12 counties with isolated infestations, and those counties have not been overrun because of the heightened awareness a quarantine brings. With continued aggressive treatment and monitoring, and an actively engaged community, we can help ensure families and businesses in these new counties are not inconvenienced by widespread infestation.

Currently the following counties are under quarantine in Pennsylvania:

• Allegheny
• Beaver
• Berks
• Blair
• Bucks
• Cambria
• Cameron
• Carbon
• Chester
• Columbia
• Cumberland
• Dauphin
• Delaware
• Franklin
• Huntingdon
• Juniata
• Lackawanna
• Lancaster
• Lebanon
• Lehigh
• Luzerne
• Mifflin
• Monroe
• Montgomery
• Montour
• Northampton
• Northumberland
• Perry
• Philadelphia
• Pike
• Schuylkill
• Wayne
• Westmoreland
• York

There are also quarantine counties or zones in the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.

 

It is time to begin spring inspections

If you suspended inspections during the winter months, April 1^st marks the day to begin inspections for the year.

• Inspections should be completed before:
  • Moving vehicles, goods, etc. within or from the quarantine
  • Entering PA from another area that has an SLF population
• Documentation is required and must:
  • Identify the person conducting the inspection
  • Demonstrate an inspection was performed to prevent spread of the pest
  • Show the control measures taken if live SLF were found (e.g. destruction of SLF)
• There is no required template for vehicle inspections.
  • If possible, incorporate SLF inspections into existing activities, such as daily inspections or safety checks, rather than keeping additional logs.
  • Examples of inspection logs can be found on the PDA SLF Business web page.
  • Electronic records are acceptable if you can make them available during a verification checkpoint or audit.

Check out the program FAQs for more details.

 

Permit Renewal Information

All Pennsylvania SLF permit holders should have a permit with an 11-digit permit number preceded by PA, e.g. PA-20190400045.

Permits are free, but online training is required to obtain them. Managers and/or supervisors who demonstrate working knowledge and understanding of this insect and the quarantine requirements may obtain a permit.

A renewal notice and a replacement paper permit were sent to all permit holders who were originally issued hangtags and/or decals. If you have not received your paper permit, please email slfpermit@pa.gov.

• The new paper permit is valid until the permit holder receives a renewal notification. This timeframe may exceed one year. Renewal notifications will be sent via email or letter.
• No additional training is required at this time.
• Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) no longer issues hangtags or decals.

If you have not received your permit or gone through the required training, CNS is trained on the Spotted Lanternfly Permit requirements.

 

“Look Before You Leave” – Best Practices for Containing Spotted Lanternflies

When driving in and out of quarantined areas, drivers should inspect vehicles before moving. Other tips for avoiding unintentional spread of this insect include these strategies:

• don’t park in or under tree lines
• keep windows rolled up
• know the life stages of the spotted lanternfly
• know the spotted lanternfly season and when to look for these insects
• report sightings of the spotted lanternfly
• Destroy any you find. Watch: How To Remove Spotted Lanternfly Eggs. Remember that every egg mass you scrape removes 30-50 lanternfly from the population!

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How Can CNS help?

CNS is trained on the Spotted Lanternfly Permit requirements from the PA Department of Agriculture. We offer training for your drivers to identify and help contain and eventually stop the spread of this insect.

The CNS course is a 35-45 min training. Please note a supervisor from your company will still be required to take the permitting course from the Penn State Extension Website.

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