The Pest Detection program looks for exotic insects in over 9,000 traps that are placed in residential yards throughout the County for this purpose. These traps are moved to new sites every six weeks so that many areas can be monitored for fruit flies and other pests.
Public participation is particularly critical to the success of this program, since staff relies on the goodwill of property owners who allow traps to be placed on their properties. If established, pests such as the Mexican fruit fly, Mediterranean fruit fly, or Gypsy moth would cause economic damage to both residential plantings and agricultural crops.
Early detection allows eradication efforts to begin before pests multiply and spread, becoming economically and technically impossible to control. The program is largely
funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the USDA.
Download an informational brochure here.
You can contact this program by calling
Toll free 1-800-300-TRAP (8727)
or
(858) 571-4209
|
