Country: United States

Title: Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata - Removal of quarantine area in the Fallbrook Area of San Diego County, California

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

Report: Effective August 3, 2010, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has removed the quarantine area for Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) in the Fallbrook area of San Diego County, California.

On November 20, 2009, APHIS designated portions of the Fallbrook area of San Diego County as a fruit fly quarantine area due to the detection of Medfly. APHIS also applied restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area to prevent the spread of Medfly to non-infested areas of the United States. APHIS worked cooperatively with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner’s office to eradicate the transient Medfly population from the Fallbrook quarantine area through various population control activities. These activities included applying sterile insect techniques by releasing sterile male Medflies in the area surrounding the detection sites and using foliar spinosad bait sprays near the detection sites.

An intensified fruit fly trap surveillance system was deployed in the area and monitored for three life cycles, calculated through a modeling process specific for Medfly and no additional fruit flies were detected. Accordingly, the 79-square-mile Fallbrook area of San Diego County was removed from the list of Medfly quarantine areas on August 3, 2010. This change to the quarantine area is reflected on the APHIS’ website. To see the current list of Federal fruit fly quarantine areas, please copy and paste the following link into your Web browser:

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

APHIS anticipates following this action with the publication of a notice in the Federal Register informing the public of this change.

Under IPPC standards, Ceratitis capitata is considered to be a pest that is absent: eradicated from the Fallbrook area of San Diego County, California in the United States.
 

Posted Date: Aug. 9, 2010, 9 a.m.