Spotted Lanternfly inFranklin County, PASPOTTED LANTERNFLY GUIDE

Franklin County — anchored by Chambersburg as county seat — confirmed SLF in 2020 and sits squarely along the I-81 corridor, one of the most heavily trafficked freight highways in the eastern United States. The county occupies the Cumberland Valley between South Mountain to the east and Tuscarora Mountain to the west, a geographic funnel that has channeled SLF populations west from the more densely infested counties of York, Adams, and Cumberland. Waynesboro, near the Maryland border, faces ongoing exposure from Washington County MD populations just across the state line, while Greencastle's location along I-81 makes it a constant reintroduction point from southbound freight. The Conococheague Creek watershed winds through the length of the county from Maryland northward, providing a connected riparian dispersal corridor. Mercersburg, in the southwestern corner, borders Fulton County and the Maryland panhandle, and sees limited but sustained SLF pressure from multiple directions. Franklin County's agricultural economy — including grain farms, orchards, and livestock operations — faces growing SLF management pressure as populations continue to consolidate throughout the valley.