SerpApi.Org
California and federal agriculture officials have declared a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation in and around San Jose eradicated, lifting a 241-square-mile quarantine that had been in place for nearly a year.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the agricultural commissioners for Santa Clara and Alameda counties announced the quarantine, which began on Aug. 19, 2025, has ended after an extensive campaign to eliminate the invasive pest.
The effort centered on releasing sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies, or Medflies, at a rate of at least 250,000 flies per square mile each week. The sterile flies mate with wild females but produce no offspring, gradually shrinking the population. Agricultural officials also treated properties near detection sites with an organic Spinosad solution and removed fruit and vegetables from properties where breeding populations were found to eliminate eggs and larvae.
They thanked residents for allowing agriculture crews access to their properties and complying with restrictions on moving backyard fruit, calling the public's cooperation critical to the successful eradication effort.
The Medfly is considered one of the world's most destructive agricultural pests because it attacks more than 250 types of fruits and vegetables. Females lay eggs inside produce, making it unfit for consumption and posing a threat to California's agriculture industry and backyard gardens.
Although the quarantine has been lifted, agricultural officials warned that the threat from invasive fruit flies remains. They urged Californians not to bring fruits, vegetables or other agricultural products into the state from other states or countries, avoid shipping homegrown produce, and report suspected invasive fruit flies or maggots to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
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