Country: United States

Title: Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly) - Removal of Quarantine Area in the Perris area of Riverside County, California

Contact:
John Stewart, National Fruit Fly Policy Manager, at 919-855-7426.

Report:

Effective June 29, 2015, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has removed the quarantine area for Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) in Perris, California.

On December 19, 2014, APHIS implemented the medfly quarantine in the city Perris, Riverside County, California. The quarantine restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area to prevent the spread of the medfly to noninfested areas of the United States. Since then, APHIS has cooperated with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the Riverside County Agriculture Commissioner’s office to eradicate the transient medfly population through various control actions, including high density trapping, fruit removal, control measures, regulatory quarantine measures, and foliar bait sprays near the detection sites.

Eradication was concluded after three lifecycles passed without finding additional Mediterranean fruit flies in this area. Accordingly, APHIS removed the interstate medfly quarantine in Perris on June 29, 2015. This removal of the quarantine area is reflected on the following designated website, which contains a description of all the current federal fruit fly quarantine areas:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/fruit_flies/index.shtml

Under IPPC Standards, Ceratitis capitata is considered to be a pest that is transient, actionable, and under eradication in the United States.
 

Posted Date: Aug. 17, 2015, 9 a.m.