LOS ANGELES : 2 Quarantined Areas Infested by Fruit Flies
Mexican and Mediterranean fruit flies infest two quarantined areas of Los Angeles County despite the weekly release of millions of sterile flies and beefed-up inspections, officials said Wednesday.
A 36-square-mile area in Country Club Park and 22 square miles in Maywood are under quarantine because of the crop-destroying pests, said Leon Spaugy, the county’s agricultural commissioner.
About 50 million sterile Mediterranean fruit flies are released weekly in Country Club Park and about 22 million sterile Mexican fruit flies are released each week in Maywood, Spaugy said.
In late 1990, state officials declared victory over the Mediterranean fruit fly. Spaugy said that both areas were infested after the state’s $63-million Medfly eradication campaign in 1989-90.
“We’re treating this as a new infestation. We know there are a number of pathways we have not plugged,” Spaugy said.
Flies are believed to enter the region in fruit, vegetables and meat sent by mail or brought by travelers.
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