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News Release

California Department of Food and Agriculture

Media Contacts: Steve Lyle, CDFA Public Affairs, (916) 654-0462,

California Department of Food and Agriculture
Release #10-031
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QUARANTINE DECLARED IN NORTHERN SACRAMENTO COUNTY AREA FOR ORIENTAL FRUIT FLY

SACRAMENTO, July 8, 2010 – A quarantine is in place in northern Sacramento County, centering on the North Highlands area where a mated female Oriental fruit fly was detected last month.


The quarantine measures 79 square miles and is bordered on the west by Rio Linda Boulevard; on the south by Arden Way; on the east by Sunrise Boulevard; and on the north by the Sacramento/Placer County line and Dry Creek Road.  A small portion — approximately two square miles — of southern Placer County is also included in the quarantine area.  Additional information about this quarantine, including a map, is available at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PE/InteriorExclusion/off_quarantine.html


The movement of host fruits and plants grown in the quarantine areas is restricted. Residents living within the boundaries are asked not to move host plants and materials from their property.


“This area includes several nurseries, outdoor produce markets and other businesses that will be affected by the quarantine restrictions,” said CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura. “We appreciate their cooperation, and we also urge home gardeners to comply with these measures by consuming homegrown produce at home and not sharing or sending it elsewhere.  These efforts protect your fellow gardeners and help ensure that the infestation will not spread to nearby areas where it could affect California’s food supply.”


While fruit flies and other pests threaten California’s crops, the vast majority of them are detected in urban and suburban areas.  The most common pathway for these pests to enter the state is by “hitchhiking” in fruits and vegetables brought back illegally by travelers as they return from infested regions around the world. The Oriental fruit fly is widespread throughout much of the mainland of Southern Asia and neighboring islands including Sri Lanka and Taiwan.  It is also found in Hawaii.


Treatment of the Oriental fruit fly primarily relies upon a process known as “male attractant,” in which workers squirt a small patch of fly attractant mixed with a very small dose of pesticide approximately 8-10 feet off the ground to light poles, street trees and similar surfaces.   Male flies are attracted to the mixture and die after consuming it.


The treatment is non-intrusive and has repeatedly proven successful over many years. Treatments will be repeated at two-week intervals for two life cycles beyond the last fly find, with a minimum of four applications.


A detailed map of the treatment area is available online at:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/treatment/treatment_maps.html


Residents with questions about the project may call the department’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899.


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California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Public Affairs
1220 N St., Ste. 214, Sacramento, CA 95814
916-654-0462, www.cdfa.ca.gov