Officials To Strip Fruit From Thousands Of Redland Homes To Prevent Fruit Fly Infestation

State officials will begin removing fruit from the yards of thousands of Redlands homes to contain a Oriental fruit fly infestation.

Through February, citrus and other fruits will be removed from 2,000 residences north and south of the 10 Freeway from East Highland Avenue to Silver Leaf Court. Residents will be given a two-day notice before workers arrive to remove the fruit.

“If left unchecked, the Oriental fruit fly could become permanently established and cause billions of dollars worth of losses annually, which would significantly impact California’s food supply,” the California Department of Food and Agriculture said.

The Oriental fruit fly, a little bigger than the housefly with yellow markings on its midsection, is also affecting more than 230 commercial crops, including bell pepper, tomatoes and figs. State officials now have quarantines in place for portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, as well as in the cities of Redlands, Yucaipa and Highland.

The Redlands and Riverside County areas affected by the Oriental fruit fly quarantine are the birthplace of the Fresh Pack navel orange industry. The mother tree that birthed the Washington navel orange is still alive in Redlands.

Anna Nakamura Knight is a sixth generation farmer in Redlands. Old Orange Grove, which has been in her family since the 1880s, is under quarantine, meaning farmers cannot sell, donate or even distribute their citrus, she said. To dispose of the affected crop, farmers must double bag the produce in plastic if it's headed to a landfill.

Farmers also have the option of taking the citrus to an authorized processor to juice the fruit, but Knight says this is not an economical option. Farmers receive around $25 for 700 pounds of fruit, which doesn't cover the cost of picking the crop.

Farmers in Redlands, she added, are part of smaller scale operations who mostly make less than $50,000 annually in sales.

“We lost 100% of our navel orange crop, we lost 100% of our mandarins and it is the same exact story with most of the citrus growers in this area,” she said, adding that state relief is needed.

The CDFA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The loss, Knight said, is “catastrophic” as most of the farmers do not have crop insurance. Knight added that some farmers lease the land where they grow crops and when they lose an entire season of produce, they have no income to make loan or lease payments.

“There is absolutely no recourse for actual farmers and growers,” she said.

Increased occurrence of fruit flies

Pest and quarantine "pressure” has increased over the years by almost eight times, Knight added. She attributes the rise to several factors, including the climate crisis, post pandemic travel and some importers bypassing inspections.

“What also exacerbates these issues is residents often are not fully informed and so they’ll go ahead and give out their mandarins or oranges to their neighbors which encourage the spread of the fly,” she said.

According to the CDFA, residents should not pick or move produce affected by fruit flies. If the produce falls to the ground, make sure to double bag it and dispose of it in the trash bin, not the recycle bin or bins for organic waste.