Invasive fruit flies have forced a 79-square-mile area of LA under quarantine. Residents are advised to not move any fruits or vegetables from their property.
Severyn Korneyev/California Department of Food and Agriculture
- A fruit fly invasion has led to the quarantine of a 79-square-mile region of Los Angeles County.
- Residents are free to come and go under the quarantine, but their produce is not.
- This is the first time the fly's invasion has resulted in a quarantine in the Western Hemisphere.
A 79-square-mile area of Los Angeles County has been placed under quarantine after more than 20 invasive fruit flies were found.
But this isn't a quarantine for people, like the COVID restrictions we're all used to — it's a quarantine of fruits and vegetables only.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced in a press release last week that it detected more than 20 invasive Tau fruit flies, which are native to Asia, in Stevenson Ranch, an unincorporated area near Santa Clarita.
The fly has been spotted in California three times since it was first detected in 2016, but was successfully eradicated each time, the CDFA says on its website. This is the first time the fly's invasion has resulted in a quarantine in the Western Hemisphere, according to the CDFA.
To prevent the flies from spreading, people living in the quarantined area cannot take any fruits or vegetables off their property, the agency advised.
John Coletti / Getty Images
The produce, however, "may be consumed or processed (i.e. juiced, frozen, cooked, or ground in the garbage disposal) at the property where they were picked," the CDFA said in the press release. "Otherwise, they should be disposed of by double-bagging in plastic and placing the bags in a bin specifically for garbage."
But, residents might want to think twice before plucking an apple off a tree and biting into it — there could be larvae living inside. The CDFA explains on its website that the "adult female lays eggs in host fruit and the larvae tunnel through and feed in this fruit."
The CDFA says the fly is also a "serious" pest for agriculture and natural resources. It can infect an extensive list of produce, including melon, peppers, papayas, citrus, and cucumber.