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Eighteen Ohio counties placed under ODA spotted lanternfly quarantine 

The Ohio Department of Agriculture has placed eighteen counties under a spotted lanternfly quarantine to help reduce the spread of the invasive species.

Director Brian Baldridge says the insect has slowly made its way into northeastern Ohio, threatening the state’s ag industry.

“They can do a lot of damage to our wine industry, our vineyards, and also to personal shrubs and trees,” he says. “This pest will latch onto a tree and basically suck out the insides and nutrients of a tree that be very devastating.”

He tells Brownfield all nursery products must be inspected and certified spotted lanternfly free before they are permitted to be transported.

“We can limit that movement, that unintentional spread,” he says. “Making sure prior to movement, if there is movement that those are inspected to be found to be free of this insect, so we can kind of slow the spread.”

Baldridge says for more information or to report a sighting of the pest, visit agri.ohio.gov. A link to ODA’s Plant Pest Control webpage, click here.

Counties included in the quarantine include: Lucas, Ottawa, Wood, Seneca, Erie, Lorain, Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage, Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson, Belmont, Muskingum, Franklin, and Hamilton.

AUDIO: Brian Baldridge, Ohio Department of Agriculture