Effort to Stamp Out Oriental Fruit Flies Gains

The quarantine issued by state and federal agricultural departments last week in response to the discovery of Oriental fruit flies--a menace to produce--will last at least two months, but the fight to contain the pest is going well, county agricultural officials said Thursday.

A 70-square-mile area of Southeast San Diego was quarantined last week, prohibiting the removal of produce grown in that area.

“Another female fly was found Monday, bringing our total to four flies--two males and two females,” deputy agricultural commissioner Carolyn Nielsen said. “But this one, unlike the other one, did not have eggs.”

Female Oriental fruit flies can lay as many as 1,500 eggs in a lifetime, which lasts about three weeks, Nielsen said. Such rapid reproduction heightens the fear that infestation may spread. This fly was also found near the others in a 9-square-mile area currently being treated with pesticides, she said.

Found Close Together

“So far they have all been found close together and that’s encouraging. We’ve been right on top of the situation and may have contained them to this small area,” Nielsen said.

The treatment area is centered on the 900 block of 44th Street. Nielsen said crews from the county agricultural department were dispatched for the second time Thursday to spray the area with pesticides. The treatment will be conducted a final time in two more weeks, she said.

“That should be the last of the treatment, that is, of course, if no other flies are found,” Nielsen said. “But we’re in no rush to lift the quarantine.”

A quarantine cannot be lifted officially until three Oriental fruit fly life-cycles (nine weeks) pass since the last fly is captured, Nielsen explained.

“That’s a minimum of another two months, but most likely the quarantine will last at least six months. We would rather be on the safe side,” she said. Fruit fly traps are maintained year-round, but Nielsen said more will be added during the quarantine to better detect the fly’s presence in the county.

“So far things are going well, but we need everyone’s continued support to be successful,” she said. “Our main concern is backyard, mom and pop growers who may be selling lemons for a dollar on the street corner. We can’t allow flies to move out of the quarantine area with uninspected, home-grown stuff.” She said eating infested produce is not harmful. Produce at grocery stores are not affected by the quarantine, she added.

Third Count Attacked

Intentionally moving produce out of the quarantine area is a state misdemeanor that can result in a $500 fine, six months in jail, or both, said Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Eddie Gray. But he said proving intent was a difficult thing to do.

“If it’s done out of ignorance, it wouldn’t even go to court. We would just confiscate the produce and destroy it,” Gray said.

San Diego has become the third county in the state this summer to be attacked by the Oriental fruit fly--known to destroy more than 230 kinds of produce. The two other counties--Los Angeles and Orange--announced their quarantine in late June, when at least 20 flies were found between them. The infestation in San Diego is not related to those cases, Nielsen said.

“It is impossible for Oriental fruit flies to travel such a distance,” she said. “But all three cases were most likely caused when tourists to Hawaii returned here with smuggled, infested fruit, or sent such fruit back here through the mail.” Oriental fruit flies are endemic in Hawaii.

If people find infested produce, they are encouraged to call the agricultural department at 565-5776, Nielsen said.