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Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive insect, first introduced to the United States in Berks County, PA and has been spreading throughout eastern PA ever since. This pest is a generalist, meaning it can eat many different species of plants. So far, more than 70 plant and tree species have been identified as food sources for Spotted Lanternfly, many of which are important forestry and agricultural crops.
To try and contain the spread of this pest, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) instated a quarantine on the counties where Spotted Lanternfly has been officially detected. The Spotted Lanternfly can cling to cars, trucks, and other vehicles coming in and out of the quarantined counties, accelerating its spread. As a part of this quarantine, businesses, agencies and organizations that are located in or working within the quarantine counties are required to have a permit for all of their vehicles. Also, businesses who travel in, out, or throughout the quarantine zone are required to have a permit for their vehicles. In conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police, the PDA performs compliance and enforcement checks.
The quarantine counties are Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill. If you are a business, agency, or organization that travels in, out or throughout any of these counties, permits are required for your vehicles.
To make this permitting process easier for Pike County businesses, Pike County Conservation District will be hosting a seminar on the permitting process for Spotted Lanternfly. Kristen Cease from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will be speaking about Spotted Lanternfly, the permit process, and administering the permit test that day. The class will be held on December 4th, 2019, from 9:30-10:30am at the Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center, and there will be free coffee and donuts. Admission is free, to register fill out the following form:
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