Country: United States

Title: Anastrepha ludens (Mexican fruit fly) – Removal of Quarantined Area in San Diego County, California - United States

Contact:
Wayne Burnett, Domestic Coordinator, Fruit Fly Exclusion and Detection Programs at (301) 734-4387

Report: On November 30, 2007, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) designated portions of San Diego County as Mexfly quarantine areas and applied restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area to prevent the spread of Mexfly to noninfested areas of the United States. Since that time, APHIS has worked cooperatively with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to eradicate the transient population of Mexfly from that area through various population control actions, including the release of sterile Mexflies and the application of foliar bait sprays.

Eradication was concluded after sufficient time passed without finding additional Mexflies in the area. Specifically, an intensified fruit fly trap surveillance system was deployed and monitored for three life cycles, calculated through a modeling process specific for Mexfly.

This change to the quarantine area will be reflected on the following designated website which contains a description of all the current Federal fruit fly quarantine areas: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/fruit_flies/index.shtml  

Under IPPC standards, Anastrepha ludens is considered to be a pest that is absent: eradicated from San Diego County, California in the United States.
 

Posted Date: July 15, 2008, 9 a.m.