I just finished reading that companies in Butler County are obliged to obtain permits in order to control the spotted lanternfly. Many portions of the county are now under quarantine. The objective is to come up with a way to stop the vermin from hitchhiking on the delivery vehicles. In all seriousness, the Department of Agriculture believes that this would be beneficial.
The fact of the matter is that the entire concept is ridiculous and will not be successful. There are one hundred private automobiles that enter and exit the confined region for every single commercial vehicle that does so.
The regions that have been quarantined are completely populated with residences. Every house has a driveway, and most of them have at least one car in it. These are the same automobiles that depart every morning to travel all across the state on their route to and from work.
It is absurd to believe that the lanternfly will only catch a ride on vehicles that have something to do with commerce. The entirety of the program is a complete and utter waste of time.
The only method to keep control over them, which is unlikely to be successful even if attempted, is to eliminate them as soon as possible. Yet if that strategy were to be successful, it would put them on the list of endangered species. And we are all aware of what this entails.
Cabot’s very own Gary McKruit
