Between August 19, 2025, and September 08, 2025, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) confirmed that five oriental fruit flies (OFFs), Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) group, were trapped in the cities of Jurupa Valley and Ontario in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. 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 and San Bernardino counties.
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 April 5, 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 August 19, 2025, and September 08, 2025 has not yet transpired, there is a high potential for sudden future detections in Jurupa Valley and Ontario. 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.