Country: United States

Title: Bactrocera dorsalis (Oriental fruit fly) – Removal of quarantine area in Sacramento/Placer Counties, California

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

Report: Effective November 16, 2010, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) removed the North Highlands area of Sacramento/Placer Counties, California, from its Oriental fruit fly (OFF) quarantine area. As a result, there is no remaining OFF quarantine areas in Sacramento or Placer Counties.

On July 6, 2010, APHIS designated portions of Sacramento/Placer Counties as fruit fly-quarantine areas restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area in order to prevent the spread of OFF to noninfested areas of the United States. Since that time, APHIS has worked cooperatively with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Sacramento and Placer County Agricultural Commissioners to eradicate the transient OFF populations through various control actions, including the application of male annihilation technique (MAT). MAT is the use of a high density of bait stations consisting of a male lure combined with an insecticide.

Eradication was concluded after sufficient time passed without finding additional OFF in those areas. Specifically, an intensified fruit fly trap surveillance system was deployed and monitored for three life cycles and calculated through a modeling process specific for OFF. Accordingly, the OFF quarantine was lifted from Sacramento/Placer Counties on November 16, 2010. This change to 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, Bactrocera dorsalis is considered to be a pest that is absent: eradicated from Sacramento/Placer Counties, California in the United States.
 

Posted Date: Nov. 30, 2010, 9 a.m.