The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture on Friday added Centre County to the quarantine zone for the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that has gradually spread throughout the commonwealth and has the potential to cause hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage.
With the addition of Centre County and 10 others as the spotted lanternfly’s spring hatch approaches, the quarantine zone now includes 45 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
“Spotted lanternflies threaten outdoor businesses and quality of life as well as grapes and other valuable crops Pennsylvania’s economy depends on,” Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding said in a statement. “It’s up to every Pennsylvanian to be on the lookout for these bad bugs. Walk your yard, gardens, or land before spring hatch and scrape egg masses. Kill every bug. Check your vehicles before traveling to ensure you’re not transporting them to a new area for new opportunities to devastate crops and outdoor quality of life.”
The quarantine prohibits the movement of any spotted lanternfly living stage and regulates the movement the movement of articles that may harbor the insect.
Residents are required to check items stored outdoors for spotted lanternflies before moving or traveling with them. Businesses operating in or traveling through quarantined counties are required to obtain a spotted lanternfly permit, which is free and designed to educate business travelers to recognize spotted lanternflies and avoid taking them to a new area.
The spotted lanternfly was first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014, in Berks County, after which the insects began to spread throughout the eastern part of the state then westward.
The bugs don’t survive the winter months, but last season’s spotted lanternflies have laid eggs in masses of 60 to 80, covered in a mud-like coating, on outdoor surfaces. Finding and destroying those masses will prevent them from hatching.
Penn State Extension offers a guide for identifying spotted lanternfly egg masses, nymphs and adults, as well as separating myths and facts about the bug. The state Department of Agriculture also has a checklist for finding lanternflies at all stages and what to do to prevent the spread.
In Centre and other newly quarantined counties, infestations are not widespread. Locally, College Township is the only area with an infestation to date.
The spotted lanternfly feeds on sap from more than 70 different plant species, and in the process significantly stresses the plant, causing damage or death. It has a preference for Pennsylvania’s economically important fruit plants and trees.
A 2020 study by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences found that the spotted lanternfly could cause Pennsylvania’s economy to lose $324 million annually and the loss of 2,800 jobs. Under a worst-case scenario, those losses could increase to to $554 million annually and almost 5,000 jobs.
At the time, current economic damages were estimated at $50.1 million per year with a loss of 484 jobs in the southeastern part of the state.
