Ohio is gearing up for a showdown with one of the country's most frustrating invasive pests: the spotted lanternfly.
What's happening?
As the insect begins hatching, Ohio officials are putting fresh funding behind efforts to keep it from spreading even farther.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture has awarded over $65,000 in grants to seven governmental organizations working to control spotted lanternflies and their preferred host plant, the also invasive tree of heaven, per The Columbus Dispatch.
The move follows the department's decision in February to place every Ohio county under quarantine, signaling just how seriously the state is treating the threat. This quarantine occurred despite only 18 of the state's counties seeing infestations last year, as The Post observed.
The grant recipients are the cities of Perrysburg ($15,000), Parma ($15,000), and Steubenville ($10,000), the Great Parks of Hamilton County ($15,000), the Ohio Exposition Center and State Fairgrounds ($3,895), the Cleveland Metroparks ($5,148), and the Put-In-Bay Township Park District ($1,150).
The funding will go toward community outreach, finding and removing egg masses, applying insecticides, and removing the tree of heaven and applying herbicides.
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Why are spotted lanternflies concerning?
Spotted lanternflies are highly destructive plant feeders, and they can be especially harmful to the state's vineyards and wine industry.
According to The Post, the state's 432 wineries — collectively contributing to a $6.6 billion industry — are on high alert for infestations.
"We are very concerned about managing and protecting our vineyards that we have in our state because they will latch on and they'll start pulling sap out of that plant, out of that grapevine, and be very devastating to the plant itself," Brian Baldridge, an Ohio Department of Agriculture employee, told the publication.
While the ODA is no longer requesting that Ohio residents report sightings of the invasive bug, it is providing clear and consistent information about what to do if you spot one: squish it! Early action is critical to reduce the need for more aggressive pesticide use if infestations worsen.
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