The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), recently expanded the La Mesa Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in San Diego County, California.
APHIS took this action to parallel the intrastate quarantine that CDFA implemented. On June 16, CDFA established a Mexfly quarantine in response to the June 4 detection of a wild mated female Mexfly from a trap in an avocado tree on a residential property in the city of Spring Valley, designated the Spring Valley quarantine. The quarantine encompassed approximately 76 square miles and contained 22.5 acres of commercial agriculture.
On June 18, CDFA expanded the Spring Valley quarantine in response to the June 12 detection of one wild mated female from a trap in a grapefruit tree on a residential property in the city of El Cajon. The amended quarantine encompassed approximately 111 square miles and contained 338.5 acres of commercial agriculture that includes avocado, citrus, stone fruit and tomatoes.
On Aug. 14, CDFA merged the La Mesa quarantine and the Spring Valley quarantine, designated the La Mesa quarantine. That was in response to the Aug. 4 detection of a wild mated female Mexfly from a trap in a tangelo tree on a residential property in the city of La Mesa. The La Mesa quarantine now encompasses 173 square miles and contains 338.5 acres of commercial agriculture that includes avocado, citrus, stone fruit and tomatoes.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles to prevent Mexfly from spreading in the United States, as well as to prevent the entry of these fruit flies into foreign trade. APHIS is working with CDFA to eradicate the transient pest population following program guidelines for survey, treatment and regulatory actions.
Maps and descriptions of all the current federal fruit fly quarantine areas can be found on the APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies webpage.
Source: APHIS
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