Pennsylvanians are all too familiar with the invasive spotted lanternfly and the havoc it has wreaked on some of our most important agriculture industries.
But we also know that many of the pesticides used to control lanternfly populations are toxic to public health and the environment. So how can we protect public spaces from invasive lanternflies without risking our health?
That was the question PennPIRG Education Fund aimed to answer on our May 26 webinar, “Fighting Spotted Lanternflies Without Toxic Pesticides.” We were joined by Michelle Niedermeier, Penn State Extension’s Community Integrated Pest Management and Environmental Health Coordinator.
As Michelle explained the various non-chemical measures, such as traps, that Pennsylvanians can take to fight lanternflies, PennPIRG reiterated our call for bans on those pesticides that simply aren’t worth the risk to the health of our communities. As PennPIRG Advocate Emma Horst-Martz put it, “we should protect our agriculture, environment and public health all at the same time — and I’m grateful for experts like Michelle who can show us how.”
Photo: PennPIRG Advocate Emma Horst-Martz and PennEnvironment Clean Water and Conservation Advocate Stephanie Wein discuss the myriad ways Pennsylvanians can protect their private and public spaces from the invasive lanternfly without resorting to toxic pesticides. Credit: Staff
Aaron Colonnese
Former Content Creator, Editorial & Creative Team, The Public Interest Network