The spotted lanternfly is creeping closer to Centre County. Here’s what you need to know
The spotted lanternfly, an invasive planthopper from Asia that is wreaking havoc on Pennsylvania trees and vines, is creeping closer to Centre County.
The state Agriculture Department recently added 12 counties to its quarantine zone, including neighboring Mifflin, Huntingdon and Blair counties.
The agency encourages those living and traveling in quarantine zones to check their vehicles before leaving. Businesses that operate or travel through quarantine zones are required to obtain a permit.
People are also encouraged to check any outdoor items, such as recreational vehicles, tents and bicycles for lanternflies and egg masses before moving them outside the quarantine zone. Sightings can be reported to the state Department of Agriculture.
The new dozen counties are not completely infested, but have a few municipalities with a known infestation. The quarantine was placed on the entire county out of an “abundance of caution,” the agency said.
“Most of these municipalities have already been aggressively treated,” Plant Industry Bureau Director Ruth Welliver said in a statement. “With continued aggressive treatment and monitoring, and an actively engaged community, we can strike spotted lanternfly from these counties.”
Treatment to the newly identified spotted lanternfly populations was funded through the state’s 2019 Farm Bill. The 2020 version of the legislation proposes another $3 million to combat the pest, plus an additional $1 million that is reserved in case of an agricultural disaster.
“The spotted lanternfly is more than a pest in the literal sense,” state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a statement. “It’s wreaking havoc for home and business owners; kids who just want to play outside; Pennsylvania agriculture and the economy of the state we all call home.”
Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences estimated in a study released in December that the spotted lanternfly cost the original 14 counties under quarantine about $50 million per year and nearly 500 jobs.
The insect could cause about $325 million in damage annually and wipe out about 2,800 jobs if it were to expand statewide, researchers estimated.
Spotted lanternflys can be controlled by scraping, smashing or burning egg masses off trees, cement blocks, rocks or any other hard surface.
Residents can also wrap tree trunks with sticky tape to trap nymphs. The Penn State Extension only recommends banding trees where spotted lanternflys are abundant.
“Whether you think it’s your job or not, we need every Pennsylvanian to keep their eyes peeled for signs of this bad bug — to scrape every egg mass, squash every bug and report every sighting,” Redding said. “We need to unite over our hatred for this pest for our common love: Pennsylvania.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 1:31 PM.