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     September 2016

 

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 PPMA OFFICERS
   
Keith Hamilton
President
J.C. Ehrlich
State College, PA
 
John Besic 
President Elect
Besic Pest Control
Transfer, PA
 
Marty Overlilne
Vice President
Aardvark Pest Management
Phildelphia, PA
 
Paul Kutney
Immediate Past President
Larksville, PA

 
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
Central Division
 
Gary Lesher
Governor
Perry Pest Control
Landisburg, PA
   
Keith Hamilton
J.C. Ehrlich
State College, PA
 
Keith Jones
Archer Pest Control
Camp Hill, PA
 
 
Eastern Division  
 
Marty Overline
Governor
Aardvark Pest Mgmnt
Philadelphia, PA

Mike Snyder
Township Pest Control
Warrington , PA
 
Jim Nase
Moyer Indoor/Outdoor
Souderton , PA
  
Northeast Division
 
Jeff King
Governor
The Pest Rangers
Hanover Twp., PA
 
Paul Kutney
Larksville, PA
 
Diane Lown
Ajax Environmental Solutions
Dalton, PA
 
Western Division
 
Adam Witt
Governor
Witt Pest Management
Pittsburgh, PA
 
Scott Grill
Bill Grill  Exterminating
Verona, PA
 
John Besic
Besic Pest Control
Transfer, PA
 
Technical Advisor
 
Chad Gore
Rentokil North America
Carnegie, PA
 
AWDII Chairman
 
Ed Van Istendal
Coatesville , PA
 
Legislative Chairman
 
Adam Witt
Witt Pest Management
Pittsburgh, PA
   
Salino Scholarship Chair 
Dana Lown
Ajax Environmental Solutions
Dalton, PA
 
Industry Liaison
 
Brian Smith
Univar
Sharon Hill, PA
 
Executive Director
Versant Strategies
Harrisburg, PA



 
  
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Dear Friends:

It's hard to believe, but the 2016 Annual Conference is just around the corner! Registration is available online. Click here to be redirected to online registration, conference agenda, hotel information, and the vendor registration information. We hope to reach a record attendance this year! Information for hotel reservations are also available! Pesticide Education Credits have been applied for in PA, NJ, MD, DE, WV, and OH. We look forward to seeing you in November at the Eden Resort!

If you are not planning on attending the Annual Conference, be sure to maximize your membership by attending your Division's Fall Meeting. The Northeast Division will be meeting October 13. Check the dates below for more information! 

Keeping your dues current is an essential part of maintaining a robust, effective organization which provides many benefits for its members. Help us help you!

As always, please reach out if we can be of service!

  Team Versant

   
Spotted Lanternfly Found in Six Additional Municipalities; Eradication Efforts Have Eliminated 1.1 Million So Far

Newly-quarantined municipalities are in Berks, Lehigh, Montgomery counties
   
Harrisburg, PA - Six municipalities in currently-infested counties have been added to Pennsylvania's Spotted Lanternfly quarantine after small populations of the invasive species were found in those areas.
 
Affected are Alsace and Exeter townships and Lyons and St. Lawrence boroughs in Berks County, Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County, and West Pottsgrove Township in Montgomery County. These detections are in municipalities adjacent to previously quarantined areas.
 
The Spotted Lanternfly is an inch-long black, red and white spotted pest and is native to China, India, Japan and Vietnam. It is an invasive species in Korea, where it has attacked 25 plant species that also grow in Pennsylvania. The pest had not been found in the United States prior to its initial detection in Berks County in the fall of 2014.
 
"With every season we learn more about Spotted Lanternfly, how they live, and how we can best eliminate them," Redding said. "These general quarantines help us to better isolate Spotted Lanternfly to the communities in these four infested counties and stand a better chance of eradicating it from North America."
 
Since this season's survey work began on May 1, eight crews and 34 volunteers have continued to band trees, scrape egg masses, and otherwise combat Spotted Lanternfly. Eradication efforts have banded more than 9,580 Ailanthus trees, killed more than 454,000 spotted lanternflies, and removed more than 618,000 eggs - more than 1.1 million Spotted Lanternfly.
 
Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, attacks grapes, apples, pines and stone fruits. It often attaches to the bark of Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), an invasive species similar to Sumac that can be found around parking lots or along tree lines. Adults often cluster in groups and lay egg masses containing 30-50 eggs that adhere to flat surfaces including tree bark. Freshly laid egg masses have a grey waxy mud-like coating, while hatched eggs appear as brownish seed-like deposits in four to seven columns about an inch long. Trees attacked by the Spotted Lanternfly will show a grey or black trail of sap down the trunk.
 
Much of the success on fifteen highly-infested properties has come from the use of trap trees, where crews have cut all but a handful of Ailanthus. The remaining Ailanthus are treated with a systemic insecticide, so that when adults feed on the tree, they are killed.
 
"With multiple years of this treatment, in combination with quarantine and volunteer efforts to band trees and scrape egg masses, we stand a great chance of wiping this pest out," added Redding. "Our recent detections have found only isolated pockets of Spotted Lanternfly, not large populations. It's heartening news that shows our success so far. With the help of residents, we can continue to limit their spread, and focus our efforts further on destroying Spotted Lanternfly in the core area."
 
The general quarantine of these infested areas restricts movement of any material or object that can spread the pest. This includes firewood or wood products, brush or yard waste, remodeling or construction materials and waste, packing material like boxes, grapevines for decorative purposes or as nursery stock, and any outdoor household articles like lawnmowers, grills, tarps and other equipment, trucks or vehicles typically not stored indoors.
 
The quarantine includes:
  • Berks County: Alsace, Amity, Colebrookdale, Douglass, District, Douglass, Earl, Exeter, Hereford, Longswamp, Maxatawny, Oley, Pike, Rockland and Washington townships, and the boroughs of Bally, Bechtelsville, Boyertown, Kutztown, Lyons, St. Lawrence and Topton.
  • Bucks County: Milford Township and Trumbauersville Borough.
  • Chester County: South Coventry Township.
  • Lehigh County: Lower Macungie, Upper Macungie and Upper Milford townships, and the boroughs of Alburtis, Emmaus and Macungie.
  • Montgomery County: Douglass, New Hanover, Upper Hanover and West Pottsgrove townships, and the boroughs of East Greenville, Pennsburg and Red Hill.
 
Residents can help with this eradication effort. Visit the department website to access the "Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Checklist" or contact a local municipality or extension office. The checklist provides guidelines for inspecting vehicles and other items stored outdoors, each time they are moved out of the quarantine area. Businesses in the general quarantine area need to obtain a Certificate of Limited Permit from the department in order to move articles. Local Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspection staff can work with businesses to ensure that they are complying with quarantine restrictions.
 
Redding encourages all Pennsylvanians to watch for the Spotted Lanternfly and offered the following suggestions:
  • During the months of July through December, when the adults are active, conduct a quick inspection of your vehicle any time you move in or near a quarantine area, to find any spotted lanternfly hitchhikers.
  • If you see eggs on trees or other smooth outdoor surfaces: Scrape them off, double bag them and throw them in the garbage, or place the eggs in alcohol or hand sanitizer to kill them. 
  • If you collect a specimen from an area that is outside the quarantined zone: First, place the sample in alcohol or hand sanitizer in a leak proof container. Then, submit the specimen to your county Penn State Extension office or to the department's Entomology Lab for verification. Don't move live specimens around, even within the quarantined area. There are many places under quarantine that do not yet have active populations of spotted lanternfly - don't help them establish a new home base. If you find a Spotted Lanternfly within the quarantined area, there is no need to submit the specimen, just destroy it.
  • If you take a photo: Submit photo of adults or egg masses to badbug@pa.gov.
  • If you want to report a site: Call the Invasive Species report line at 1-866-253-7189 and provide any details of the sighting and your contact information.
 
Suspect specimens can also be submitted directly to the department's headquarters in Harrisburg or to any of its six regional offices. Specimens can also be submitted to county Penn State Extension offices as well. For more information about the Spotted Lanternfly, visit www.agriculture.pa.gov and search "lanternfly."
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Will Nichols, 717.787.5085

News from NPMA 

Action needed for Zika funding 
 

Dear NPMA Members,
 
We are at the final hour, and Zika funds have run dry. The health of the public--in jeopardy.
 
Since Congress left for their summer vacation, Zika cases have doubled. We can't wait any longer. Now is the time to hold their feet to the fire. It's time to end the political games. It's time to deploy the world's largest and most sophisticated built-in pest defense network.
 
Tell Congress to come together and pass a bi-partisan Zika funding bill! 

Raise your voice with the 20,000 companies and 150,000 technicians that comprise the structural pest management industry. Together, let's tell Congress that we look forward to protecting public health, working closely with federal and state regulators, and assisting with the abatement of mosquitoes.
 
With a few quick clicks and sending the pre-written message to your elected officials, we can make the difference.

 








Upcoming Meetings          
   
On October 13, the Northeast Division will be having it's Fall Seminar. Be sure to click here for more information.

The Annual Conference is planned for November 6-8 at the Eden Resort in Lancaster. Mark your calendar today! 

The Meetings and Events section of the website is always the most up-to-date resource for happenings of the Association. Be sure to check it out!

The Eastern Division continues to hold its monthly meetings with varying topics of discussion on the second Thursday of every month at the Crowne Plaze in Trevose.  For more information on monthly topics and speakers, contact Sue at (215) 331-1121.
  
Legislative Update

The information below represents legislative activity (including bill introductions) that has occurred since the last newsletter.  For a full listing of legislation that Versant is tracking for PPMA, please contact us at (717) 635-2320 or cwright@versantstrategies.net.  Activity marked HCO or SCO indicates a co-sponsorship memo which precedes the actual introduction of legislation and is designed to secure the support of other legislators prior to introduction as a bill.
   
Lawmakers have returned to the Capitol and are making the final pushes through their fall session days. Pensions seem to be a common issue that the House of Representatives hopes to tackle.
 
HB 1421 - Helm, Susan (R) regulates home inspectors; providing for funds, for licensure, for disciplinary actions, for remedies, and for penalites, & repealing provisions relating to home inspections.

A hearing is set for 9/21/2016 where action is expected to move it from committee.

SB 737 - Hutchinson, Scott (R) relates to hunting and furtaking, further providing for unlawful devices and methods.

The bill is set on the Tabled Calendar and potentially will see action before the close of session.


REMINDER from NPMA
Increase Your Business Opportunities; Update your Find a Pro Listing Today
 
To update your company's service area, please follow the steps below:
  1. Log on to the Manage My Group area of the NPMA websitePlease note: in order to access the "Manage My Group" area of the NPMA website, you must be a company administrator. 
  1. Click on "Company Information" from the drop down menu.
  1. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Service Area section.
    1. Download the excel template found on this page.
    2. Update this template to include all of the zip codes that you service.
    3. Save the file on your computer.
    4. In the Service Area section click Choose File.  Locate the excel template file that you just saved. Click open.
    5. Click Upload file.
Once you've completed these steps your service on Find-a-Pro is instantly updated to include these new zip codes. 
If you are having problems accessing please contact NPMA at (703) 352-6762 or npma@pestworld.org.

Articles of Interest  
      
09-16-2016 Casey calls on Republicans to address Zika virus funding, gun violence before recess
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey ticked off a list of issues that could go unaddressed before Congress recesses for the fall, including funding to combat the Zika virus, and he laid the blame squarely on Republicans. "If we leave Washington in the next week or so without action on these... - Beaver County Times

09-15-2016 Uh huh, honey: How Penn State's Beekeepers Club is taking care of over 100,000 honey bees
During this time of year, thousands of students and alumni gather around Beaver Stadium to tailgate the afternoon away before a home football game. Just a few feet away from the tailgating grounds, some smaller members of the Penn State community are working hard not to grill burgers, but to... - Penn State Daily Collegian

09-09-2016 The Great Insect Fair Returns to Ag Arena
The Penn State Department of Entomology's annual Great Insect Fair returns to Snider Ag Arena on Saturday, giving visitors a chance to see lots of different insects up close, learn about pollinators, enjoy activities... and eat some bugs. The fair, which takes place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., will feature an "Insect... - State College News