The California Department of Food and Agriculture has expanded an existing Mexican fruit fly quarantine zone first declared in early March to include an additional 76 acres in East County, now including parts of El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, San Diego and Santee.
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Routine inspections detected the invasive pest’s presence in El Cajon and Spring Valley. The initial 77-mile quarantine, announced to the public on March 10, included parts of Spring Valley and Bonita after routine inspections located Mexican fruit flies in La Mesa.
Flies can infest more than 50 types of fruits and vegetables. Outbreaks are most often connected to fruit brought home from outside the area.
The quarantine requires special handling by commercial producers. Home growers are requested to consume their fruit at home to avoid spreading the infestation.
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An active quarantine map maintained by the state ag department shows that the area overlap, jointly covering about 111 square miles of east and central San Diego County, now reaching just past Interstate 15 south of Interstate 8. The combined area’s southern extent ends near Eastlake in Chula Vista and eastward just past the Sycuan Reservation. The zone’s northern extent ends just shy of the San Diego River and Santee Lakes.
The state, working with local and federal agencies, plans to release sterile Mexican fruit flies to help prevent the spread of flies beyond the properties where they were detected. Properties within 218 yards of fruit fly detections will be treated with Spinosad, an insecticide derived from saccharopolyspora spinosa bacteria.
Anyone with questions about the quarantine process, or who believes their fruit may be infested, should call 800-491-1899.
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