The NJ Department of Agriculture proposed expanding the Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine to include Burlington, Gloucester, Camden, Salem, and Somerset Counties to the current quarantine area of Warren, Hunterdon, and Mercer County.
Earlier this week, the NJ Department of Agriculture proposed expanding the Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine to include Burlington, Gloucester, Camden, Salem, and Somerset Counties to the current quarantine area of Warren, Hunterdon, and Mercer County.
The Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is a new pest to the United States. This invasive plant-hopper, initially discovered in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014, is native to Southeast Asia and poses a threat to forests, ornamental trees, orchards, vegetables, grapes, hops, and other agricultural commodities critical to the economy of the Garden State. Since its initial discovery in Pennsylvania, it has spread to infest portions of 14 counties of that state, recently it has been discovered in New Jersey in Warren, Hunterdon and Mercer, Burlington, Camden, Salem, and Somerset Counties.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has determined this insect to be dangerous and destructive to the agriculture, horticulture, and forest industries of New Jersey and has declared this insect to be a “public nuisance.” The purpose of quarantine is to minimize the environmental and economic damage to the nursery, horticultural, fruit, vegetable, orchard, and viticulture industries that will be severely economically affected by infestations along with the nuisance of honeydew excretions affecting the public wellbeing.
Full text of the proposal and all impact statements are published in the New Jersey Register dated June 3, 2019, and can be obtained by visiting the Department’s website.
For additional information or questions, please contact Joe Zoltowski, Director, Division of Plant Industry, NJDA, at Joseph.Zoltowski@ag.nj.gov or 609-406-6940.