Oriental Fruit Fly Treatments in Menifee

Between July 14, 2026 and July 20, 2026, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) confirmed that two oriental fruit flies (OFFs), Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) group, were trapped in the city of Menifee in Riverside County. Based on these detections, pest biology, information from the CDFA Bactrocera Science Advisory Panel (BacSAP), recommendations provided by the CDFA Primary State Entomologist, and the CDFA’s “Action Plan for Methyl Eugenol Attracted Fruit Flies including Oriental Fruit Fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel),” the CDFA concludes that an infestation of OFF exists in the area. This pest presents a significant, clear, and imminent threat to the natural environment, agriculture and economy of California. Unless emergency action is taken, there is high potential for sudden future detections in Riverside County.
In accordance with integrated pest management principles, the CDFA has evaluated possible eradication methods and determined that there are no cultural or biological methods available to eliminate OFF from this area. This Proclamation of Emergency Program is valid until November 24, 2026, which is the amount of time necessary to carry out the treatment plan across three life cycles of OFF as required by the treatment protocol for OFF. The CDFA will employ chemical control as the primary tool and will additionally use physical control via host fruit removal when there is evidence that a breeding population exists on a property.
The detections of OFF described above require immediate action to address the imminent threat to California’s natural environment, agriculture, and economy. More specifically, in addition to a wide variety of commercial crops, OFF threatens loss and damage to native wildlife, private and public property, and food supplies. Because the life cycle of the OFF detected between July 14, 2026, and July 20, 2026, has not yet transpired, there is a high potential for sudden future detections in Menifee. Therefore, the Secretary is invoking Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(4) to carry out immediate emergency action to prevent the aforementioned loss and damage to California’s resources.

Click here to read the notice of treatments and here for a map of the detections.