Spotted Lanternfly 2021 Quarantine Increases

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has just added 8 counties to the spotted lanternfly quarantine, creating a total of 34 counties under a state-imposed quarantine. These include: 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, York, Wayne, and Westmoreland.

A county is placed under quarantine when

evidence of a reproducing population of spotted lanternflies, such as an egg mass, is found by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The newly added 8 counties are not completely infested, but rather have a few municipalities with a known infestation, which led to a quarantine being placed on the entire county. This action is taken as a precaution and reflects the importance of awareness for early detection and stopping this pest in these new areas.

The spotted lanternfly quarantine regulates the movement of plants, plant-based materials, and outdoor household items out of the quarantine area to keep this pest from spreading. Businesses/ organizations that operate in or travel through quarantined counties are required to obtain a spotted lanternfly permit. A permit shows other businesses and states that a company has done its due diligence to avoid transporting the pest to new areas. This applies to the entire county quarantined, not just the affected municipalities. Businesses should plan to become permitted as soon as possible and may send any questions regarding the permit to SLFPERMIT@pa.gov . Additionally, businesses may check whether they need a permit by using this resource.

Because the populations in the new areas are much smaller compared to the original population in southeastern Pennsylvania, it is critical that we do our part to prevent further spread of this insect to new areas. If you see it, destroy it, take a photo if possible and make note of when, where and how many were seen. Then, report it by calling the spotted lanternfly hotline at 1-888-422-3359 or report it online here. Be sure that you do not move any life stage of spotted lanternfly, including the egg masses.

Newly found spotted lanternfly populations will be intensively managed by the Pennsylvania and U.S. Departments of Agriculture with the goal of local eradication. To that end, regulatory representatives may need access to properties near the infestation area to conduct treatments or monitoring. We encourage cooperation with these treatments. These officials will always provide proper documentation and identification. They will not ask for any form of payment.

The success of stopping the spotted lanternfly depends on help from the public to look for and report signs of the pest. It is easier to stop a few than it is a few hundred. To learn more about the spotted lanternfly including pictures, visit the Penn State Extension website.