Threat from fruit fly over on the coast

Known to breed on more than 250 different fruit and vegetables — including apples, apricots, avocados, bell peppers and citrus fruit — the Mediterranean fruit fly has been considered one of the most destructive agricultural pests in the world, said Wagner. So when no additional flies were detected within the estimated timeframe of three generations of the pests, a period that ended in early October, Wagner said officials were able to call off the quarantine and put those affected at ease.

“It’s a collective sigh of relief,” he said. “Everyone is very much looking forward to just not having to think about Med[iterranean fruit] flies.”

Wagner said the two flies were discovered in traps county officials put out regularly. Because two flies found in such close proximity triggers a quarantine, he said state officials from the California Department of Food and Agriculture got to work stripping all the fruit from trees near the find sites.

“In this case, we found what we were looking for, unfortunately,” he said. “That triggered some pretty serious restrictions on growers.”

Though some growers who plant annual crops were able to shift away from potential host plants, those who grow orchards of fruit trees that could have been hosts for the pest were required to follow strict regulations, such as treating their crops with organic pesticides before they could distribute their produce outside the county, he said, noting 41 growers and businesses are believed to have been affected by some kind of quarantine requirement.

Though swift actions to curb the spread of the pest are needed when an insect as destructive as the Mediterranean fruit fly are detected in an agricultural area, Wagner said officials were well aware of the quarantine’s impact on growers. But he said they were encouraged by the collaboration among growers in administering treatments, and also the efforts of business owners and vendors at farmers’ markets, who spread the word about the quarantine and shielded produce in the open air from the pests, using either plastic sheeting or Tupperware.

“It was actually really heartening,” he said. “A number of growers banded together and helped support each other in the treatment efforts … the community was also really supportive.”

Wagner said county officials ramped up trapping once the quarantine was put in place, but the quarantine’s end date was delayed due to cooler weather along the coast, which extends the insect’s life cycle.

“That was a huge challenge for us because it made our quarantine last way longer,” he said.

Though he said growers and the community are ready for the quarantine to be lifted, he hoped more county residents will keep the risks of bringing fruit from quarantined areas top of mind in the future. He said a lot of quarantines of invasive areas start when people travel to regions where the pests are common and bring fruit back to the county with them, a decision that may not seem like a weighty one in the moment but could have more drastic consequences later.

“People really don’t realize how a small action … could have a huge impact to the economy of an area,” he said.

Visit dontpackapest.com for more information on traveling with food, plants and animals. Visit agwm.smcgov.org or the county Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures office at 728 Heller St. in Redwood City for updated information about efforts to manage pests in San Mateo County.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106