Spotted lanternfly in Ontario: Regulated area put in place for the county of Essex, city of Windsor, township of Pelee, and municipality of Chatham-Kent

Today, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced a regulated area for spotted lanternfly (SLF) in the county of Essex, the city of Windsor, the township of Pelee, and the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario.

Today, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced a regulated area for spotted lanternfly (SLF) in the county of Essex, the city of Windsor, the township of Pelee, and the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario.

Under these regulations, all things moving out of the regulated area to non-regulated areas must be free of all life stages of SLF prior to being moved. This includes, but is not limited to nursery stock, outdoor household items, ornamental stones and firewood. These movement restrictions are intended to help slow the spread of this pest and protect non-infested areas in Canada.

Following the initial detection in Windsor, additional detections of SLF were confirmed in the city of Windsor and the county of Essex, Ontario. In addition, hundreds of reports of confirmed SLF observations were received across the county of Essex. Evidence of a reproducing population, including detections of adults and egg masses, was found and we now consider there to be an established population of SLF in this area. 

To slow the spread of SLF, any area in which SLF is determined to be established will be regulated, along with any adjacent areas. This is outlined in the SLF response framework.

Spot it? Snap it, catch it and report it. If you see the spotted lanternfly outside of this regulated area, take a photo or video; catch the insect or scrape the egg masses; put it into a sealable container; and report it immediately to the CFIA. All Canadians can help prevent the spread of SLF by reporting sightings to the CFIA at www.inspection.gc.ca/pests or by contacting their local CFIA office.

Spotted lanternfly can feed on more than 100 species of trees and plants, however, significant impacts from this feeding have only been observed on grapes.