APHIS establishes box tree moth quarantines in Delaware and Pennsylvania

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the Delaware Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is adding the entire state of Delaware and Erie County, Pennsylvania, to the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) quarantined area.

APHIS is taking this action in response to the confirmed detections of BTM in a residence in Little Creek, Delaware, on July 11 and in Lakeside Cemetery in Erie (Erie County), Pennsylvania, on Aug. 29.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture established an intrastate quarantine area for BTM that parallels the federal quarantine. This federal order supersedes federal order DA-2024-17.

To prevent the spread of BTM, APHIS considers it necessary to regulate the interstate movement of regulated articles of boxwood from quarantined areas.

Boxwood plants may only be moved interstate from a quarantined area from an establishment operating under a compliance agreement, and only if accompanied by a certificate issued by a state agricultural authority certifying that the requirements of this federal order and the compliance agreement have been met.

These requirements will prevent producers and distributors of boxwood from moving infested plants interstate. State agricultural authorities may prescribe additional safeguards and protocols.

APHIS prohibits movement of all other regulated articles of boxwood, including plant parts, pieces, cuttings, clippings, debris and any portion of the plant, alive or dead, except for decorative purposes.

The above-referenced federal order and additional information about BTM are located on the APHIS box tree moth webpage.