Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly): APHIS Establishes and Expands the Quarantine in Santa Clara County, California
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly): APHIS Establishes and Expands the Quarantine in Santa Clara County, California
Country: United States
Title:
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly): APHIS Establishes and Expands the Quarantine in Santa Clara County, California
Contact:
Catherine Marzolf, National Policy Manager, 386-666-9932 or catherine.a.marzolf@usda.gov
Report:
On August 19, 2025, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) established a Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata; Medfly) quarantine in Santa Clara County, California, designated the Santa Clara quarantine. On August 22, APHIS and CDFA expanded this quarantine.
APHIS and CDFA established the Santa Clara Medfly quarantine in response to the confirmed detections of two wild female Medflies in the city of San Jose. The first was on August 11 from a trap in a peach tree on a residential property and the second on August 12 from a trap in an orange tree on a residential property. APHIS and CDFA expanded this quarantine by nine miles following the detection of an additional wild female Medfly in San Jose on August 14 in a trap located in a peach tree on a residential property. The quarantine encompasses approximately 118 square miles with 22 acres of commercial agriculture, including pepper, stone fruit, and tomato.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles to prevent the spread of Medfly to non-infested areas of the United States, as well as to prevent the entry of these fruit flies into foreign trade. APHIS is working with CDFA and the Agricultural Commissioner for Santa Clara County to respond to these detections following program guidelines for survey, treatment, and regulatory actions.
The APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies website contains descriptions of all current Federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.
Under IPPC standards, Ceratitis capitata is a transient pest under eradication that is present only in one area in California. This species is not widely distributed and is under official control in the United States.
Posted Date: Sept. 15, 2025, 4:22 p.m.