Spotted Lanternfly inPike County, PASPOTTED LANTERNFLY GUIDE

Pike County — confirmed for SLF in 2017, one of Pennsylvania's earliest confirmed counties — is a Pocono Mountains county with an outsized SLF spread risk profile driven by its massive seasonal tourism economy. Milford is the county seat. The county hosts one of the highest concentrations of vacation homes and second-home properties in the northeastern United States, attracting enormous seasonal vehicle traffic from the New York City metro area via I-84 and Route 6. These vehicles — arriving from among the most heavily SLF-infested regions in the country — create continuous SLF introduction pressure throughout spring, summer, and fall. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area spans Pike County's southern border, and the Delaware River State Forest covers much of the county's forested interior, making ecological monitoring especially important as SLF populations continue to establish in this predominantly undeveloped landscape.