Pa. Department of Agriculture adds Greene County to "Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine"
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - On Friday morning, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding made the announcement that Greene County is now among the 52 counties quarantined due to spotted lanternflies.
Secretary Redding is continuing to encourage Pennsylvanians to destroy lanternfly eggs with spring on the horizon, ensuring that they will not hatch.
"There's still time to help get rid of lanternflies before they hatch," Secretary Redding said. "As you clean up your yard or enjoy these early spring days, every egg mass you scrape and squash means 30-50 pests won't hatch in May. Our dedicated teams are seeking and destroying lanternflies with partners across Pennsylvania. Even our highly trained dog, Lucky, is sniffing out eggs where people can't find them."
Governor Josh Shapiro's budget for the coming fiscal year proposed funding to combat lanternflies, including $3 million dedicated to the response to agricultural emergencies.
Back in 2020, Pennsylvania introduced Lucky, America's first dog specifically trained to detect lanternfly eggs in hard-to-reach places and new funding will expand the program to western Pennsylvania. Joining Lucky is Ruby, who is currently being trained at PennVet's Center for Working Dogs.
Spotted lanternflies were first found in the U.S. in 2014 when they were found in Berks County, Pennsylvania. While they do die off in the winter, their eggs are able to survive in subzero temperatures.
You can learn more about the insect and how control them when you spot them in the spring and summer months on the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture website at this link.