The Region : Medfly Spraying Scheduled for Tonight

About 300 California Conservation Corps members tramped through Maywood, Bell and adjoining communities to warn residents that helicopters will be spraying the pesticide Malathion on their neighborhoods tonight in an effort to halt a growing infestation of the Mediterranean fruit fly. Flyers in English and Spanish were dropped at about 70,000 homes in a 22-square-mile aerial spraying zone bounded on the north by Washington Boulevard, on the west by Sante Fe Avenue, on the south by Firestone Boulevard and on the east by Garfield Avenue. The notices advised residents to remain indoors while the helicopters are overhead and to wash the mixture of bait and pesticide from their skin if they are exposed to it. In addition, they were urged to cover their cars and trucks, or wash them, because Malathion can damage paint.