Local News in Brief : Traps Set After Medfly Is Spotted

Agricultural officials have placed fruit fly traps over a 100-square-mile area of western Los Angeles after the discovery Monday of a single, adult male Medfly in the Palms area.

The Medfly, which is considered a potential threat to agriculture, was not associated with an earlier problem in the San Fernando Valley, said E. Leon Spaugy, Los Angeles County’s agricultural commissioner.

A total of six Medflies were discovered in the Northridge area last July leading to an eradication program that included aerial spraying. A quarantine is still in effect in a 62-square-mile area within the San Fernando Valley.

Such efforts will not be considered for the West Los Angeles area unless another Medfly is found within a three-mile radius of the discovery site or if pupae or larvae are also found, according to Bob Donley, a deputy director with the agricultural commissioner’s office.