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A portion of Los Angeles County has been placed under quarantine for the Oriental Fruit Fly following the detection of 14 flies in the San Fernando Valley in the North Hills area. To prevent the spread of fruit flies through homegrown fruits and vegetables, residents living in the quarantine area are urged not to move those items from their property. However, they may be consumed or processed (i.e., juiced, frozen, cooked, or ground in the garbage disposal) on the property where they were picked or disposed of by double bagging and placing in the regular trash, not green waste. Residents with questions about the project may call CDFA’s Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899. Additional information may be found here: www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/off.

After 12 years of research, a parasitic wasp that controls a highly destructive fruit fly will be released by Oregon State University agricultural scientists in June. Vaughn Walton, Extension entomologist and professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has permitted release of the wasp (Ganaspis brasiliensis), a slow process that took more than 10 years from application to decision. Now that it has a permit, Walton’s lab, which is part of the OSU Agricultural Experiment Station, is raising enough wasps to make a dent in the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) population in Oregon.

On July 1, 2019, a new law (RSA 487:43) went into effect, requiring all persons operating a motorboat that is registered in another state (other than New Hampshire) on New Hampshire public waters, to display a New Hampshire aquatic invasive species decal from the Department of Environmental Services.

We need your help to "outsmart" invasive species in Massachusetts. If you have a smartphone or a digital camera, the power to protect the natural heritage of Massachusetts is already in your hands. Join the Outsmart Invasive Species Project to help stop the spread of non-native plants and insects that threaten our environment.

See also: Noxious Weeds and Controlled Plants for more hogweed resources

Plant Pest and Quarantine executives and trading partners from 13 Pacific Island countries are in Fiji this week to investigate ways to better prevent and control the introduction and spread of plant pests and diseases across country borders. To address such global issues, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has drafted International Standard Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) which have been reviewed by countries, including the Pacific countries attending the three-day Regional International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Workshop which concluded yesterday.