An infestation of oriental fruit flies was discovered Wednesday in nearby Cupertino, while local agriculture officials previously set an array of traps in San Benito County to prevent their spread here.
Last summer, infestations of fruit flies were discovered in places such as Morgan Hill and San Jose. Both oriental and guava flies are natives of southern Asia and can wreak devastation on fruits and vegetable crops, including citrus, apples and stone fruits.
The oriental fly was first introduced in California in 1960 in Anaheim and has been found in 244 cities across the state, according to a study released in July by biology publisher Proceedings of The Royal Society. The oriental fruit fly is considered to be one of the most invasive species of fruit fly in the state, according to the report.
As a routine prevention strategy, more than 40 traps have been set for the pesky fruit flies in San Benito County, said Agriculture Commissioner Ron Ross.
“We check them every two weeks,” he said in a phone interview Monday.
He said the first line of defense to stop the pests is monitoring shipments of fruits and vegetables at border stations and airports.
He said that if the flies are discovered, the county uses something called “delimitation” where additional traps are set out.
Once that is put into place, the elimination program begins, he said. A “male attractant” gelatinous mixture is applied to utility poles and street trees as pheromone lure. The flies are attracted to the lure and get stuck to the gel, which has an insecticide in it that kills the insects.
He could not confirm if the county had detected an infestation yet, but officials are looking into it, he said.
“We should be able to detect these things,” he said.
