HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is encouraging businesses to obtain the required Spotted Lanternfly permit to ensure they are complying with the Spotted Lanternfly quarantine orders.

Gearing up for the next phase of the Spotted Lanternfly life cycle, now is the best time for businesses to learn how they can jump-start this spring’s fight.

“New York, New Jersey, and other bordering states have been good partners, but if we aren’t careful in self-policing, ensuring we aren’t sending Spotted Lanternfly on vehicles traveling outside of the quarantine, we could disrupt the free flow of commerce,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.

There is no cost to businesses to obtain a permit. Under the law, businesses in the Commonwealth need to take the online permit training and exam and receive a permit for their vehicles. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture continues its work to contain and minimize the spread of the Spotted Lanternfly while also keeping commerce flowing in Pennsylvania.

In November of 2017, 13 Pennsylvania counties – Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and Schuylkill – were placed under quarantine to help stop the spread of the Spotted Lanternfly. States with Spotted Lanternfly populations are also required to follow the permit requirements for Pennsylvania. This will help prevent the movement of the pest from other states into Pennsylvania.

The Spotted Lanternfly permit training teaches business owners, managers, or designated employees how to comply with the quarantine – an important legal designation to help stop the spread of Spotted Lanternfly – to ensure each of their employees are complying with the law.

The quarantine order directs businesses, residents and county authorities to follow guidelines to prevent the movement of the certain articles that contain any living stages of the Spotted Lanternfly, including egg masses, nymphs, and adults such as:

• Logs, stumps, or any tree parts;
• Nursery stock;
• Crated materials; and
• Trucks or vehicles not stored indoors.

“By investing time and personnel to inspect vehicles to safeguard against transporting insects, you can help to ensure this pest does not reach further beyond those counties that are already quarantined. Working together, we can protect Pennsylvania agriculture and our ability to access other markets,” added Redding.

As part of the Spotted Lanternfly quarantine agreement beginning May 1, 2019, The Department’s Bureau of Plant Industry will begin to perform inspections and verification checks to confirm that businesses are properly permitted. Failure to take the permit exam and educate employees could result in possible penalties and fines.

The permit training and testing can be accessed online through Penn State Extension. For any questions regarding permitting, please contact the Department’s Spotted Lanternfly permit coordinator.

Find out more about Spotted Lanternfly at www.agriculture.pa.gov/spottedlanternfly, www.aphis.usda.gov/hungrypest/slf, and https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly.