Infestation

Aerial spraying of malathion has been scheduled for Thursday night over a 14-square-mile area north of downtown Los Angeles because of an infestation of the crop-destroying Mediterranean fruit fly, agricultural officials said Tuesday. Gov. George Deukmejian signed papers declaring a state of emergency to permit the spraying as California Conservation Corps members canvassed the neighborhood distributing leaflets announcing the spraying. Cause of Action County Agricultural Commissioner E.

A Reseda neighborhood near Sherman Way and Reseda Boulevard may be the center of the San Fernando Valley's Mediterranean fruit fly infestation, prompting stepped-up inspections and the possibility of additional ground spraying in the area, state and county agricultural officials said Monday. A sixth Medfly was trapped Sunday afternoon on a back-yard citrus tree in the 7300 block of Darby Place, where the fifth fly was discovered Saturday.

Love was in the air Monday as authorities released the first of 300 million sterile Mediterranean fruit flies near Dodger Stadium, hoping that the sterile flies will quickly consummate courtships with fertile counterparts. The matchmaking is intended to bring to an end a month-old infestation of the crop-destroying pest near downtown. Earlier this month, the sector was sprayed with a pesticide in a first attack against Medflies.

In the first indication that this month's Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak may not be confined to neighborhoods west of downtown Los Angeles, agricultural officials have trapped a female Medfly in San Gabriel, about 12 miles from the previous trappings. The mature, unmated female fly was discovered Wednesday in a persimmon tree in the 200 block of West Main Street, officials announced Thursday.

State and county agriculture officials expressed hope that they have gained the upper hand in the battle against the latest Mediterranean fruit fly infestation after completion of an aerial malathion spraying early Friday over neighborhoods near downtown Los Angeles. State inspectors checking the work of the computer-aided helicopter team that sprayed the malathion mix declared the aerial spraying a success in terms of coverage.

Mice have infested thousands of homes in a part of Florida practically built on the popularity of Mickey Mouse. Gov. Jeb Bush has directed $400,000 in state and local funds for poison, traps and other weapons to kill rodents that have crawled into at least 10,000 homes in a 50-square-mile area of Orange County, the home of Walt Disney World. "It wasn't just one or two. There were dozens of them," said retiree Mildred Jackson of Zellwood. "We've tried everything. Traps, sticky pads, everything.

California growers are expressing heightened frustration and anxiety about the stubborn infestation of Mediterranean fruit flies, saying that they particularly fear erosion of the public's acceptance of aerial pesticide spraying. Amid these concerns, state officials announced Friday that malathion spraying will be required in an area surrounding the spot in Garden Grove where a mated female was found. Typically, spraying occurs within a 1.

State agriculture officials said Tuesday that eggs of the gypsy moth, a dreaded leaf-eating insect that has laid waste to an estimated 2.5 million acres of U. S. forest so far this year, were found last month in a doll house brought to Encino two years ago by a family relocating from Massachusetts.

It was hot dusty work for several dozen California Conservation Corps workers who spent Friday stripping oranges from trees at Cal State Northridge, home of one of the last historic orange groves in the San Fernando Valley. Vince Arellano, regulatory section leader of the Cooperative Medfly Project in Los Angeles, said the agency got approval from CSUN officials to remove the fruit because they could provide a lush breeding area for Medflies, an insect that can harm crops.

Two infestations of the imported red fire ant--more than 1 million strong combined--have been found in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County agricultural officials said Thursday. The ants, which can swarm their victims and inflict painful bites and stings, were located last month at a Mission Hills cemetery and a Chatsworth business. The discovery comes a little more than a year after a single ant was found in a mound near a Van Nuys home.