Two Medflies in Orange Prompt More Trappings

The discovery of two Mediterranean fruit flies in Orange has prompted increased trapping in the area to determine the extent and location of any infestation, agriculture officials said Thursday.

Larry Hawkins, spokesman for the Cooperative Medfly Project, said homeowners are also being individually notified of plans to apply malathion bait to foliage within a 200-meter radius of the Medfly finds, both of which occurred near the intersection of Tustin Street and Collins Avenue.

The ground application, administered by backpack instruments resembling leaf-blowers, is scheduled Monday, Hawkins said. The mixture of malathion and a corn syrup derivative kills Medflies that eat it but is not considered harmful to humans or pets.

Hawkins said the discovery of the two Medflies, which were found in grapefruit and orange trees, was “not particularly surprising or cause for alarm” since it was just north of an area now quarantined where Medflies were previously trapped.

“We are intensifying the trapping to find out if these are isolated fly finds or there is a separate infestation in the city of Orange,” Hawkins said.