Federal and state agriculture officials removed the Oriental fruit fly (OFF) quarantine in the North Hills area of Los Angeles County, California. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
(Photo courtesy of County of San Diego)
On July 1, APHIS and CDFA established an OFF quarantine in the North Hills area of Los Angeles County and restricted interstate movement of regulated articles from this area to prevent the spread of OFF to non-infested areas of the United States. This action was necessary in response to the confirmed detections of 14 adult male OFF from four sites in the North Hills area by CDFA between June 22 and June 28, all from traps in various types of fruit trees in residential areas.
Since that time, APHIS has worked cooperatively with CDFA and the Los Angeles County Department of the Agricultural Commissioner to eradicate the transient OFF population through various control actions per program protocols. APHIS removed the quarantine area after three OFF life cycles elapsed with negative detections in this area.
An APHIS website contains a description of all the current federal fruit fly quarantine areas.
Additional information on the quarantine area can be obtained from APHIS Fruit Fly National Policy Manager Richard Johnson at 301-851-2109.
The Oriental fruit fly is considered one of the most serious of the world’s fruit fly pests due to its potential economic harm. It feeds on more than 436 different fruits, vegetables and nuts, including fig, loquat, mango, orange, peach, plum, sapote, soursop, Surinam cherry, tangerine, tropical almond and guava. The fruit flies lay their eggs in host fruits and vegetables. In a few days, the eggs hatch, and maggots render the fruits or vegetables inedible.
Source: USDA APHIS
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