The Oriental fruit fly was officially eradicated in Morgan Hill late last month, according to a notice from the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau.
The declaration came after careful monitoring that calculated the end of three generations of the fly with no additional detections being found, reports Bureau Executive Director Jennifer Scheer.
In July 2012, four flies were originally found near the area of Tennant Avenue and Monterey Road in Morgan Hill, triggering an “infestation” determination along with heavy trapping and bait station applications. This process differs from a quarantine, wherein local crops cannot be moved.
The California Secretary of Agriculture issued a proclamation July 27 declaring an emergency that authorized an eradication process. If six fruit flies had been identified, a quarantine would have been triggered, severely limiting growers’ ability to move fresh produce.
Many growers in the infestation area began Oriental fruit fly treatments in case the infestation reached a quarantine level.
The “infestation” and quarantine threat ended in September, but the fruit fly was not officially eradicated from the area until now.
About the Oriental fruit fly
The tiny flies – which are about the size of a pinhead and native to Southern Asia – burrow inside fruit, lay eggs and populate.
If not eradicated, they threaten a multimillion-dollar industry. The last county infestation in Milpitas caused major concern in 2010, and was fully eradicated in July 2011, according to the county.
Infestations have occurred in California over the last 30 years and have been successfully wiped out before any critical damage, according to former County Agriculture Commissioner Kevin O’Day. The fruit fly is typically found in urban areas, he said, because they “hitchhike” on fruit that is from an infested area such as Hawaii or the Philippines.
