Not So Fast! Medfly Sighting Prompts New Quarantine in California
A portion of Alameda County has been placed under quarantine for the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Medfly) following the detection of one wild mated female in Fremont. The USDA, the Alameda County Agricultural Commissioner, and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) are working collaboratively on this project.
CDFA has successfully eradicated every detected Medfly infestation in California history, dating back more than 40 years.
The quarantine area in Alameda County measures approximately 71 square miles, bordered on the north by CA-84; on the south by the boundary between Alameda-Santa Clara counties; on the west by the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge; and on the east by Calaveras Creek. Click here to view the quarantine map.
This current project is new and distinct from recently eradicated invasive fruit fly infestations in Santa Clara, Sacramento, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. The last Medfly quarantine in Alameda County was in 1981.
Sterile male medflies will be released in the area as part of the eradication effort. The release rate will be 250,000 males per square mile per week in a 39 square mile area around the infestation. In addition, properties within 200 meters of detection sites are being treated with an organic formulation of Spinosad in order to help reduce the density of the population. Finally, fruit removal will occur within 100 meters of properties with mated females, larval detections, and/or multiple adult detections.
The Medfly is known to target more than 250 types of fruits and vegetables. Damage occurs when the female lays eggs inside the fruit. The eggs hatch into maggots that tunnel through the flesh of the fruit, making it unfit for consumption.
The sterile fly release program has a proven track record of success in California.
For more, continue reading at cdfa.ca.gov.
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