10 More Malathion Sprayings Possible

With the second malathion spraying in county history successfully behind them, county agricultural officials are now awaiting word from the state on a schedule for perhaps as many as 10 more dousings in North County.

About 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, three specially equipped helicopters finished spraying hundreds of gallons of pesticide mix over about a nine-square-mile area of Orange County that included parts of La Habra, Brea and Fullerton.

Agricultural officials now plan to spray that same area, around the site where a pregnant Mediterranean fruit fly was trapped Nov. 17 in a Brea guava tree, as many as a dozen times in all to try and halt the spread of the crop-destroying pest.

The aggressive new spraying policy has caused rumblings among some North County residents, who question assertions by agricultural officials that the malathion mix poses no health risks.

But most elected officials in the affected area have voiced support for the multi-dose approach and, unlike Los Angeles County, no formal opposition has developed here.

Under a preliminary schedule prepared Wednesday by state officials, the North County area, unlike some other Medfly-infested regions around the Southland, will not be re-sprayed until the beginning of January at the earliest.

But local officials are still awaiting word from the state on sprayings for January and beyond. That may come within the next few weeks.

The North County area will likely be sprayed once every three weeks in the winter, with the aerial applications coming more frequently as the weather warms in the spring.

Orange County Agricultural Commissioner James Harnett said residents in the target areas will be mailed notices for future sprayings. That was not done for Tuesday’s application, causing some confusion among residents who weren’t sure when or whether their homes would be sprayed.

But Harnett nonetheless defended the decision not to put out notices for the Tuesday event, saying that: “You would have to have your radio off and not read the paper to be totally surprised by the spraying.”