DEVORE – (INT) - Medflys are back and a quarantine has been imposed to end the critter’s latest risk to local fruits and vegetables.

The 93 square mile quarantine is bordered on the north by Silverwood Lake; on the south by Muscoy and North Fontana; on the west by Lytle Creek; and on the east by Crestline.

It comes after an infestation of Medflys was detected in the Devore area. The bugs are known to target more than 250 types of fruits and vegetables.

Sterile male Medflies are scheduled to be released in the area as part of the eradication effort. The release rate will be 500,000 males per square mile per week in a 16 square mile area around the infestation. In addition, properties within 200 meters of detections are being treated with an organic formulation of Spinosad, which originates from naturally-occurring bacteria, in order to remove any mated female Medflies and reduce the density of the population. Finally, fruit removal will occur within 100 meters of properties with larval detections, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said Wednesday.

Story Date: October 28, 2019