Country: United States

Title: Bactrocera dorsalis (Oriental fruit fly, OFF) – Establishment of a Quarantine Area in Sacramento and Placer Counties, California

Contact:
Wayne Burnett, APHIS Exotic Fruit Fly Director, Fruit Fly Exclusion and Detection Programs, (301) 734-4387

Report: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the finding of an OFF population in the North Highlands area of Sacramento county, California. APHIS is designating portions of Sacramento County and Placer County as an OFF-quarantine area and is applying restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. It is necessary to include portions of Placer County due to its proximity to the North Highlands area of Sacramento County. These actions are necessary to prevent the spread of OFF to non-infested areas of the United States.

On June 21, 2010, one mated female OFF was detected in a fruit fly trap placed on a residential property in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, California. APHIS, in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Sacramento County Agricultural Division, confirmed the detection. The detection triggered the establishment of this quarantine area, which encompasses approximately 79-square miles of Sacramento/Placer Counties. The quarantine area is mostly residential, with minimal commercial-host production.

Fruit fly traps have been deployed at protocol levels to conduct a delimitation survey surrounding the detection sites. The population control treatment, known as the male annihilation technique (MAT), is being conducted in the area surrounding the detection site. MAT makes use of small amounts of an attractant (methyl eugenol), a pesticide (Naled), and a thickening agent (Min-U-Gel) to lure the male flies to bait stations, where they are killed upon feeding. The Naled/lure mixture is applied to utility poles, street trees, and other unpainted surfaces (such as fences) using pressurized tree-marking guns at a density of 600 bait stations per square mile.

This action is effective as of July 6, 2010. The establishment of the quarantine area will be reflected on the following designated website, which contains descriptions 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, Bactrocera dorsalis is considered to be transient, actionable, and under eradication in the United States.
 

Posted Date: July 8, 2010, 9 a.m.