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
Greg Ten Hoeve
Terminix
Mechanicsburg, 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
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
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Dear Friends:
The Annual Conference is just under a month away! Click
here to be redirected to online registration, conference agenda, hotel information, and the vendor registration information. Vendor spaces are filling up fast!
In an effort to ensure that our members receive the most accurate information, this year the credits offered at the Annual Conference are being posted on the agenda and website as they are confirmed from each of the states. We have secured credits from PA, OH, WV, NJ, MD, and DE. Click
here to see the list of offered credits. The Association is in communication with each of the states to ensure the maximum number of credits are able to be received.
Are you looking to expand your workforce? The Versant team along with Marty Overline, Chair of the PestVets Program, with support from NPMA have been working to expand opportunities for PA companies looking to hire veterans. Be on the lookout for more information at the Annual Conference!
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
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Harrisburg, PA
- An isolated pocket of Spotted Lanternfly in Allentown has prompted state officials to expand a quarantine zone to include the city, as well as to seven other municipalities throughout Lehigh and Montgomery counties, said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today.
The seven other municipalities include Whitehall, South Whitehall, Upper
Saucon, and Lower Milford townships in Lehigh County, and Lower
Pottsgrove, Upper Frederick, and Marlborough townships in Montgomery County.
"We haven't found evidence of a major infestation of Spotted Lanternfly in Allentown, but because we've found it there, we need citizens to help us identify pockets where it may exist. More importantly, we need everyone to ensure that they aren't accidentally transporting the insect," said Redding, who also noted the other newly added municipalities are largely contiguous to previously quarantined townships.
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.
In the fall, adults lay egg masses on nearly any flat surface, which can include outdoor furniture, equipment, stone and block, as well as the outsides and undersides of vehicles.
"Spotted Lanternflies are rather weak fliers, so the easiest way to spread them is by moving them ourselves," Redding added. "This means that whenever you drive somewhere or transport items, we're asking you to look before you leave. Comprehensively check your vehicle and cargo to make sure you aren't packing this pest."
Each egg mass contains 35-50 young Spotted Lanternflies. 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.
Redding stressed that residents inside the quarantine zone should simply destroy any specimens they find. There is no need to report the insect.
But if you live outside the quarantined zone and find a specimen, 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. There are many places in the quarantine area that do not have active populations of Spotted Lanternfly, so don't help them to establish a new home base. Be sure to look before you leave.
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, as well as trucks and vehicles not typically stored indoors.
The quarantine now 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: Upper Saucon, Lower Macungie, Upper Macungie, Upper Milford, Lower Milford, Whitehall, and South Whitehall townships, and the boroughs of Allentown, Alburtis, Emmaus and Macungie.
- Montgomery County: Douglass, Marlborough, New Hanover, Upper Hanover, Upper Frederick, Lower Pottsgrove and West Pottsgrove
townships, and the boroughs of East Greenville, Pennsburg and Red Hill.
Residents can help with this eradication effort. Visit www.agriculture.pa.gov 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 may need to obtain a Phytosanitary Certificate from the department in order to move articles. Local Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspectors can work with businesses to ensure that they are complying with quarantine restrictions.
Photos of adults or egg masses can be submitted to
[email protected]
. To report a site, call the Invasive Species Report Line at 1-866-253-7189 and provide details of the sighting and your contact information.
Suspect specimens can be submitted directly to the department's headquarters in Harrisburg or to any of its six regional offices. Specimens also can be submitted to county Penn State Extension offices.
For more information about the Spotted Lanternfly, visit
www.agriculture.pa.gov
.
Look under "Hot Topics" for Spotted Lanternfly.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Will Nichols - 717.787.5085
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Upcoming Meetings
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.
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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 [email protected]. 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 was held on 9/21/2016.
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.
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Articles of Interest
| 09-27-2016 |
State trying to gain upper hand against spotted lanternfly
UPPER MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP - An invasive insect continues to creep into new territories. The spotted lanternfly has now been spotted in Upper Macungie, bringing to six the number of townships and boroughs the destructive pest been found in Lehigh County - and 40 municipalities overall in Lehigh, Berks, Bucks,... - Allentown Morning Call |
| 09-21-2016 |
Officials declare Miami area clear of Zika, credit spraying
MIAMI - Authorities declared a victory Monday in stemming further infections of Zika in Miami's Wynwood arts district, but continued to caution pregnant women about traveling to the city and surrounding areas out of concerns for catching the virus... - AP |
| 09-19-2016 |
Congress works to finish Zika aid, prevent shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) - Driven by a desire to free up endangered lawmakers to campaign, congressional negotiators are working to quickly complete a spending bill to prevent an election-season government shutdown and finally provide money to battle the threat of the Zika virus... - AP |
| 09-18-2016 |
Outcry Erupts Over Miami Beach's Pesticide Spraying to Curb Zika
On the advice of the federal and state governments, the Miami-Dade County mayor, Carlos A. Gimenez, first ordered aerial spraying in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami in July when active Zika transmission was discovered there, north of downtown. More conventional pesticides, officials said, were failing because... - New York Times |
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