Efforts are underway in Orange County to stop the invasion of an unwelcomed pest. The county is working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to target the Oriental fruit fly.
“They’re not native to California, and they would be detrimental if we allow them to be established here in the state,” Orange County Agricultural Commissioner Jose Arriaga said.
In October, eight Oriental fruit flies were identified by pest detection crews in Garden Grove and Santa Ana. The fly has no natural enemies and can destroy fruits and vegetables.
“They will lay eggs on over 230 different agricultural commodities and it can be residential commodities: citrus, oranges, apples avocados, and essentially the fruit will be full of maggots rendering it inviable,” Arriaga explained.
The Oriental fruit flies’ discovery triggered a quarantine that spans 88-square miles around the area where they were found.
“The requirements of the quarantine are to restrict the movement of agricultural commodities with the goal of restricting, or eliminating, the movement of those flies,” Arriaga said.