COUNTYWIDE : L.A.’s Sterile Medflies Turn Up in County

Ventura County agricultural authorities trap an average of two sterile Mediterranean fruit flies a day, most of which are brought into the area in cars from Los Angeles and other nearby counties where sterile fruit flies are released to combat the Medfly infestation.

“Last fall, when sterile Medflies were first being used in L.A. County, we trapped two or three of them a month here,” said Ann McClure, deputy county agricultural commissioner. “Now, the eradication campaign has been stepped up with steriles from Hawaii, and we’re feeling the difference.”

The insects are being discovered throughout the county, McClure said. “Mainly, we find them in urban areas, where people open their car doors after driving from L.A. and other areas.”

Sterile Medflies are harmless to agriculture, McClure said, but the fertile insects are a major threat to citrus orchards, tomatoes, figs and scores of other crops grown in the county. Some ornamental plants also can be destroyed by the insect.

McClure said about 250 crops are vulnerable to infestation by Medflies. The females lay their eggs inside the fruits and vegetables, she said, and the voracious larvae cause the damage.

No fertile Medfly is known to have been found in the county, McClure said.

To maintain the current level of 4,334 traps for detecting Medflies and other pests, the county Agricultural Commission will ask the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to renew a longstanding agreement with the state to pay the county $231,000 to trap the pests this fiscal year.

The pest monitoring program costs $275,000, with the county paying the balance.

The cost was the same last year, McClure said.

On Tuesday, the agriculture agency will ask the supervisors to approve two other contracts, which call for the state to pay $110,000 to enforce pesticide regulations and monitor pesticide residue.