Important Information About Spotted Lanternfly Permits

Photo by Greg Hoover

Spotted Lanternfly Permits are required for businesses and organizations moving within or from the quarantine zone in the course of work activities. Currently the counties of Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill are under quarantine, but this is subject to change should SLF be discovered in any other areas.

Working with PDA, Penn State Extension just launched an online course for companies to receive training and permits as needed. You can find the course at here.

Companies should designate specific employees to take the course. Once a designated employee passes this course, his or her company will receive spotted lanternfly permits for company vehicles. The designated employee must train fellow employees to work in the quarantine zone without inadvertently spreading these insects and endangering agriculture and commerce. This course includes fact sheets to use with training.

PLEASE NOTE: YOUR COMPANY MAY REQUIRE A PERMIT, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT MOVING FOREST PRODUCTS!

Below are examples from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture:

Do I Need a Permit?

Spotted lanternfly permits are required for Businesses and Organizations if you are moving within or from the quarantine zone in the course of your work.

Examples:

·         A tax preparation business has an office within the quarantine zone. Employees drive their personal cars to work and work in the office all day. The business has no company cars, and is not actively moving products. This business does not need a permit. However, employees are encouraged to complete and carry a compliance checklist in their own vehicles.

·         A potato chip company has a manufacturing facility in the quarantine zone that packages pallets of product, and ships either in its own fleet of trucks or with common carriers. This business needs a permit. The company should designate one or more supervisors/managers in charge of warehousing or trucking to take the permit training and exam, and request enough permits to cover all vehicles under his/her authority. That designated person should then train all workers in the product movement/transport stream and maintain a record of who has been trained. They should place a permit in each company vehicle, along with documentation to show that inspections are being done and control measures (such as vehicle washes) are done at appropriate times to keep spotted lanternfly from moving with the product or vehicle. Training and inspection/control records must be kept for two years.

·         The PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) has a regional office within the quarantine zone. In the course of their duties, some regional staff drive state vehicles within the zone, and some drive in and out of the quarantine zone. This organization needs a permit. A designated regional employee should take the permit training and exam, requesting enough permits for all vehicles in the work group. The designated employee then trains others in the group, maintains the training record, and provides the permits to be in each vehicle. Each vehicle should carry a log to track Spotted Lanternfly inspection or control measure activities. Records must be kept for two years.

·         A business based in western Pennsylvania, outside the quarantine zone, routinely delivers truckloads of product to New Jersey, also outside any quarantine area. The truck drives through the quarantine area but does not stop to load or unload any product. This business does not need a permit. However, the business should consider securing the truck and load from hitchhiking Spotted Lanternfly.

·         An agricultural business that is based outside the quarantine zone routinely delivers produce to a retail distribution center in the quarantine zone. The truck stops in the zone, unloads product, may or may not load material for the return trip. This business needs a permit. This business, although it is based outside the quarantine zone, needs to have a Spotted Lanternfly permit.

Even if you do not need a permit, PDA encourages everyone to take advantage of training -- in meetings or on the web -- from Penn State Extension or PDA.

•             Know how to identify spotted lanternfly and its favorite food, the tree of heaven.

•             Report spotted lanternfly from areas outside the quarantine, 888-422-3359.

•             Don't travel with living spotted lanternfly. Look before you leave!