How Pennsylvania is preparing for the lanternfly this Christmas season
Should I Buy a Live Christmas Tree?
With Pennsylvania’s spotted lanternfly alert this Christmas season, people are asking themselves if they should continue the age-old tradition of picking out a live Christmas tree, or make the switch to an artificial one? In the story, Could the spotted lanternfly be lurking in your Christmas tree this year?, Fox 29 tries to help you make this decision by exploring the odds of actually finding a lanternfly on your live Christmas tree, and what Pennsylvania is doing to help prevent these insects from spreading and entering your home this holiday season.
Fox 29 speaks to experts who say the odds are very low that lanternflies will show up on your live Christmas tree this year, and Chris Nicholson, President of the NJ Christmas Tree Growers Association, states, “There is no documented case of a spotted lanternfly having been found on a Christmas tree that was grown in our state.” The article also revealed there has only been one case of eggs found in a Christmas tree from Pennsylvania.
In an attempt to control the lanternfly population, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has quarantined areas across Southeast PA. These efforts will hopefully mitigate what is expected to be an already small risk of lanternflies showing up on local Christmas tree farms.
What Should I Do If I See a Lanternfly?
If you happen to spot a live spotted lanternfly or any egg masses in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture says you should call their hotline number — 1-888-4BADFLY (1-888-422-3359). You also can report a sighting to the Penn State Extension on this web page: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly.