Zap--A New Plan to Kill Fruit Flies

High-voltage electrical currents zapped onto citrus could kill fruit fly larvae and stop the destructive insects from hitchhiking into the United States, the Agriculture Department said. The electrical method could be used on U.S. citrus imports and may be an effective alternative to spraying methyl bromide, a fumigant that is set to be phased out by 2005 because of concerns that it weakens the earth’s ozone layer, the department said. Agriculture Department officials are looking for a commercial partner to test how the electrical method will work on a broad scale and how much it would cost.