Agriculture Dept. to begin medfly spraying in Old San Juan
By THE STAR STAFF
Puerto Rico’s Department of Agriculture will begin a ground-based spraying operation Thursday in the San Juan islet area to combat the Mediterranean fruit fly, following the detection of 1,652 wild specimens of the invasive pest as of Oct. 16.
The treatment area will extend from Paseo de la Princesa to Escambrón and is intended to prevent the insect from spreading to crops across the island.
“We have to eradicate this fly population where it has been detected and prevent it from reaching our crops,” Agriculture Secretary Irving Rodríguez Torres said in a written statement. “The spraying complements the work already being carried out through traps, bait stations and the removal of fruit that can harbor the insect.”
The operation will be conducted jointly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS). Officials said applications will be made directly to selected trees and vegetation by technical personnel rather than through aerial spraying.
Treatments will be repeated every seven days at affected locations, depending on weather conditions and operational needs.
Authorities will use GF-120 NF Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait, a product containing 0.02% spinosad as its active ingredient. The bait will be applied with one-gallon hand sprayers to specific areas of foliage.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the product is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute for use in organic farming. A USDA-APHIS assessment concluded that risks to human health are minimal when the product is used according to label instructions.
Officials urged residents and businesses to avoid treated areas during applications, allow access to response crews and follow instructions from field personnel. Precautions will also be taken to prevent the product from reaching bodies of water or drifting beyond designated treatment zones.
“The safety of the public is a key part of planning these efforts,” Rodríguez Torres said. “The product has specific uses and precautions that must be followed, even though it is approved for use in organic production.”
The spraying campaign is part of a broader response launched after the Mediterranean fruit fly was first detected on July 16. A quarantine covering portions of the San Juan metropolitan area was declared on July 28.
As of Oct. 16, authorities had deployed 889 traps and 945 bait stations throughout San Juan. Crews also had removed nearly 14,934 pounds of host fruits that could serve as breeding sites for the insect.
In addition to trapping and baiting efforts, officials have been releasing sterile Mediterranean fruit flies to disrupt reproduction in the wild population. The first release, conducted Sept. 5-6, involved some 1.5 million sterile flies. By Oct. 16, six release cycles had been completed, including roughly 6.5 million sterile flies released during the first four rounds.
Agriculture officials noted that a single Mediterranean fruit fly was detected in Ceiba on Aug. 17, with no additional findings reported there since.
The current quarantine zone encompasses some 41.8 square miles, covering the San Juan islet and surrounding metropolitan areas.
While the Mediterranean fruit fly does not bite humans and poses no direct threat to public health, officials warned that it can severely damage fruits and vegetables and cause significant economic losses to the agricultural sector.
The Agriculture Department urged the public to comply with restrictions on moving fruits and other regulated materials and not to tamper with traps or bait stations installed as part of the eradication effort.
