Fruit Fly Discovery In Ventura County Prompts Quarantine

Thursday October 26, 2023

     Ventura County agricultural officials are sounding the alarm about a small pest discovered in Thousand Oaks that poses a large threat to key crops.

     It's known as the Queensland fruit fly that is native to Australia.

     Officials say it could be potentially devastating.

     The major risk is to some of Ventura County's most import crops including citrus, avocados, strawberries, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

     The damage to the fruit occurs when the female fruit fly lays her eggs inside of the fruit making it unfit for consumption.

     The quarantine area will include portions of both Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

     Those areas generally involve large portions of the Conejo Valley in both Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

     This is a link to an extremely detailed list of the areas contained in the map at the top of this story...

https://maps.cdfa.ca.gov/QuarantineBoundaries/QFF/QFF_Quarantine_Ventura_LA_County_Text.pdf

     And for the entire news release that includes extensive details on what this means for people in the quarantine area and what they and the government will need do to stop the spread of the fly and eradicate it, here is the main link...

https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/qff/regulation.html