Final Mexfly Spray Drifts Over El Cajon : Pesticide: The next phase in the battle to eradicate the insect will be the release of millions of sterile Mexican fruit flies.

El Cajon residents shut their windows and covered their cars for what they hoped would be the last time Monday, as six helicopters laden with malathion made their third and final scheduled sweep over the city.

Instead of being relieved, however, many residents felt simply resigned.

“A lot of people are just taking it for granted that it’s going to happen, and there’s nothing they can do about it,” said Mike Roach, who has monitored public sentiment about the state’s effort to eradicate a suspected infestation of Mexican fruit flies as he sells disposable car covers from his Chevron gas station on Jamacha Road. “People are just resigned to the fact that they can’t fight it.”

The past six weeks have been frustrating for opponents of the spraying, who have fought constant battles but won few victories. There have been scores of community protests, big and small. Several politicians have responded to citizens’ calls by speaking out against the aerial effort that has deposited fine droplets of poison over a 16-square-mile area at two-week intervals since May 21.

On Monday, for example, the San Diego City Council took initial steps to draw up an ordinance that would prohibit malathion spraying from commencing in San Diego before public hearings are held. The ordinance, which must itself be discussed at public hearings and then voted upon by council before it becomes law, would also prohibit the use of city-owned airfields by any aircraft used to apply the pesticide.

But, especially since June 4, when a lawsuit filed by the city of El Cajon failed to keep the helicopters from administering their second dose, it’s been harder and harder to gather an anti-malathion crowd. On Monday, only a handful of people attended a midday press conference, called by San Diego Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt, to announce the formation of the Coalition to Stop Aerial Spraying.

And later, outside the gates of Miramar Naval Air Station, where the helicopters landed and took off, a rally planned by the El Cajon-based SMASH (Stop Malathion Aerial Spraying Here) drew only about 25 people. By contrast, the first spraying May 21 prompted more than 300 people to protest.

“You know how the state says there are three (trapped) flies, so there must be thousands more?” explained Daniel Tarr, a spokesman for the Greens of San Diego, referring to the state’s estimates of the potential Mexfly population. “Well, we’re using the same analogy with the protesters--each one you see represents many.”

If all goes as planned, there may be little more to protest about in El Cajon. State officials have said that, barring the discovery of more Mexican fruit flies, Monday’s application of the syrupy pesticide-laced bait will be the last chemical attack in the war on Mexflies. The next, non-pesticide phase is scheduled to start next week, when millions of sterile Mexflies will be set loose to mate themselves out of existence.

Connie Smith, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture, said intensive trapping has not discovered any flies since May 5, when two egg-bearing females were found. On April 25, a mature male fly was trapped a quarter of a mile away.

Protesters have questioned whether three flies constitute an infestation (“Everyone Dies for 3 Damn Flies,” said one banner at Monday’s news conference). But Smith stressed that, because trapping is very difficult, the discovery of one fly can mean that thousands more exist.

Furthermore, judging by the maturity of the trapped flies, Smith said, the next week will be crucial. If the generation of flies that were trapped laid any eggs, she said, a new crop of flies may soon crawl out of their cocoon-like casings, or pupae. Ideally, Monday’s dosage of malathion, which kills only adult flies, not pupae, will strike at the right time, Smith said, because “this is the week when they are likely to emerge.”

Whether more flies are trapped or not, several environmental groups vowed Monday to continue the fight against aerial spraying. The Greens said they will seek to challenge the emergency powers given to Gov. George Deukmejian that allowed him to order the spraying. A spokesman for California Public Interest Research Group said his group will try to use public outrage over malathion to win support for the state Environmental Protection Initiative, commonly known as Big Green.

Meanwhile, El Cajon’s entrepreneurs, who have turned the malathion frenzy into a money-making venture, seemed determined to carry on as well. Roach, the gas station owner, predicted that the release of 20 million fruit flies per week would likely catapult some other product into the spotlight.

Instead of late-night car washes and disposable car covers, he said, “Maybe they’ll come out with big fly strips.”