Butler County added to spotted lanternfly quarantine zone
While many in the know saw the dreaded-yet-beautiful spotted lanternfly last summer in the Cranberry Township area, Butler County now has been officially added to the counties in the state Department of Agriculture’s quarantine zone.
The department announced Friday that the county and five others were added to the quarantine zone.
Businesses that operate in or travel through quarantined counties are required to obtain a spotted lanternfly permit through the department.
“Spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest that is disruptive and damaging to our agriculture commodities and a nuisance pest for all Pennsylvanians,” said Russell Redding, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture. “Through collective and intentional efforts, including instituting quarantine zones, we continue to slow the spread of this insect, and I call on all Pennsylvanians to assist.”
Diane Dallos, master gardener coordinator for the county’s Penn State Extension office, said although the species or its larva have been seen only in Cranberry and Jackson townships, the entire county is in the quarantine zone.
“I know I have seen them in Cranberry Township last summer,” Dallos said.
She said the large, dramatically colored adults excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which eventually turns into a black, tarry, moldy substance on patios, lawn furniture, cars, outdoor toys and other surfaces it lands on.
The areas of Pennsylvania that have had high concentrations of spotted lanternflies have suffered the worst nuisance from the honeydew, which also draws other insects because it is sweet and sticky, Dallos said.
“They are actually poor fliers,” she said. “They are much more adept at climbing trees.”
She said the insects lay eggs on any surface, but especially love tree of heaven bark.
Dallos also said the bug likes red and silver maple, river birch, willow and sumac.
They tend to avoid cherry trees and conifers, although they will lay their eggs on those species.
Dallos said the invasive tree of heaven grows in rights of way, woods and other unmaintained areas.
She said anyone with significant unmaintained acreage should check for tree of heaven and remove it.
“And people should go egg hunting,” Dallos said.
She said spotted lanternfly larva looks like a patch of pale brown tar on a tree’s bark.
The larva should be scraped off and disposed.
“Squishing them is by far the most fun,” Dallos said. “It’s the outdoor equivalent of popping the plastic bubbles that come in the packages shipped to your house.”
She said the larva is visible on trees from September to May, then they hatch and the nymphs climb up and down their host tree.
In the latter part of the summer, the insects move more and will hitchhike on trains, long-distance tractor-trailers, cars and anything else that will transport them to their next habitat.
In addition to their honeydew creating an unpalatable situation in the outdoors, the spotted lanternfly can weaken trees.
They eat grapevines, rose bushes, tree of heaven and black walnut trees, using their specialized mouth that can cut into bark.
“They don’t really kill anything, but they make (trees) sick and susceptible to other concerns,” Dallos said.
Older, established trees, bushes, shrubs and vines likely will survive if gnawed by the spotted lanternfly, but new or stressed plants will be more susceptible to developing a fatal condition, she said.
The vibrant, black-and-red bugs have very few predators in the U.S. compared to Asia, their native habitat.
“I think it is unofficially here to stay,” Dallos said.
Information on attaining a business permit is available by emailing slfpermit@pa.gov.
