Fruit fly outbreak in Salisbury North

The Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA is urging residents in the affected area to follow quarantine requirements, which includes keeping fresh fruit and vegetables on their properties.

This new fruit fly outbreak was declared after 6 Queensland fruit flies were found in traps by PIRSA staff as part of regular surveillance activities. Salisbury North and surrounding suburbs are impacted, check the outbreak map to see if you are affected.

PIRSA staff, easily identifiable by their orange overalls and identification, have started visiting households. These staff members will be applying an organic bait to foliage and checking fruit for signs of fruit fly, including maggots.

Please learn more about quarantine requirements in the red zone.

PIRSA Director of Plant and Invasive Species Biosecurity, Nick Secomb, said he was confident that proven control methods would lead to a successful eradication – but that it is vitally important the community follow all quarantine restrictions.

'Anyone moving fruit can potentially spread this pest, so it is critical that people within the 1.5km outbreak area follow our advice and do not move any fresh fruit or fruiting vegetables from their properties. This includes giving it away to family, neighbours and selling it online,' said Mr Secomb.

'Ripe fruit in gardens is a host for fruit fly and the perfect place they look to lay their maggots. So now is the time to check any fruit on your trees – including stone fruit – for bruising or maggots, and report anything unusual to the Fruit Fly Hotline on 1300 666 010.'

Mr Secomb also said that the approaching cooler weather in autumn could slow Queensland fruit fly activity, but not stop it entirely. This is because fruit fly – either adults, eggs, and larvae (in fruit), or pupae in the ground – have an overwintering practice. This means they slow their life cycle during cooler weather and accelerate it as the weather warms back up.

To help break the fruit fly life cycle, it’s important to:

• make sure your garden is tidy
• pick up any fallen fruit off the ground
• remove any unwanted fruit from your trees and place it in your green bin.

'Our proven controls to this outbreak area include PIRSA teams applying organic bait and checking fruit in the Salisbury North outbreak area, with a view to then include the area in the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) program.

'We have a strong success rate of eradicating fruit fly and we want to keep it that way, but we need residents to follow our advice and help us by giving easy access to their yards.'

If no further wild flies or larvae are detected, PIRSA anticipates the quarantine in Salisbury North will be lifted later this year.

Find further information and advice on quarantine restrictions in outbreak and suspension areas.