The county initially had four areas under quarantine but those have now been consolidated into two larger tracts, San Mateo County agricultural commissioner Gail Raabe explained. One area includes much of the Bayside, as well as a dogleg into Half Moon Bay.
Pescadero is the other region.
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“We’re asking that (residents) help us prevent the artificial spread,” Raabe said, adding that the spread of the moth’s larvae is the main concern. “They’re tiny, little green caterpillars, so they can be easy to miss.”
In the quarantined areas, businesses that depend on transportation of plants, such as farms or flower shops, must undergo regular inspections for the moth’s larvae.
As of press time, 286 male moths have been collected in the 3,000 traps that have been spread throughout the county. Occasionally, other moths are caught in the traps, but Raabe said most other insects are safe.
Due to the small population of moths in the area, as well as the secluded nature of Half Moon Bay and Pescadero, these areas represent the only regions in the county that include the “twist ties” laden with a pheromone meant to turn sterile any male moth that comes into contact with them.
“The twist ties are most effective in areas that have small populations of moths and are secluded,” Raabe said.
The first moth to be discovered on the Coastside was found in May 2007.
Although never contemplated for the Coastide, the aerial spraying previously planned for some surrounding counties and Daly City and Pacifica will no longer take place in urban areas. Instead a sterile release technique is planned for early 2009 — a process that has been used in the past for the Mediterranean fruit fly, Raabe said.
The switch to the sterile release project is “a decision that was possible because of a scientific breakthrough by researchers,” said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Later this summer, after three lifecycles for the moths are completed, the twist ties will be removed, traps set up and the CDFA will make an assessment on what the next steps should be.
The increase in moths found on the Coastside is not enough to warrant a change in the planned twist tie procedure, Lyle said, but he added that change could be a possibility.
“It just depends on what we find in the traps,” he said. “If we find significantly more moths distributed in a wider area, we may switch treatment plans.”
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