Cooler Weather Helps Keep the Lid on Medflies

No Mediterranean fruit flies were found in the Los Angeles area for the fifth consecutive day Wednesday, but the trend will have to last at least two more weeks before officials declare a breakthrough in the battle against the pest.

Bill Edwards, the county’s chief deputy agricultural commissioner, said cooler temperatures were partly responsible for the dormant Medfly population. The last of the 228 crop-threatening Medflies found in the county since July was a pregnant fly discovered Friday in previously uninfested Compton, which will be included in the South Gate malathion spraying zone that will be treated Jan. 4.

A 26-square-mile-area encompassing South Pasadena and parts of Alhambra, El Sereno, Monterey Hills, Pasadena and San Marino was to be sprayed Wednesday night. A 38-square-mile-area of South Gate and Norwalk is scheduled to be sprayed tonight.

The spraying will then be suspended until after the holidays.

Los Angeles County will conduct aerial spraying of malathion tonight from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Area: 38 square miles encompassing Bellflower, Cudahy, South Gate and parts of Bell, Cerritos, Huntington Park, Lakewood, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Norwalk, Paramount and Walnut Park.

Precautions: Stay indoors; keep animals indoors; wash animal dishes and toys left outside; cover cars; keep doors and windows closed.

Information: Toll-free numbers for the Agricultural Commissioner: (800) 356-2894; (800) 225-1346.