Light Brown Apple Moth Alights in SF, Alameda and CC county

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/711983/

I wrote this up in the Australian folder because it's native to Australia and I was hoping to get advice. However, this is important for all CA gardeners to know.

http://goldengategarden.typepad.com/golden_gate_gardener_/2007/04/moth_invaders.html


Be careful moving any plants around these counties or receiving plants from these counties. Reputable nursery stock will have been inspected but home, school, and community gardeners in affected are not supposed to be moving plants and plant materials at this time.

Thank you, Spidra

As a native Californian I lived in the Golden State when Jerry Brown was Governor of California. He may have saved the agriculture industry in CA . When the Mediterranean Fruit Fly was discover in abundance in CA he ordered Malathion spraying (to kill the Med Fly), using helicopters to dispense, all over California. It was a nightmare but apparently the effort stopped the spread of the Med Fly. If this moth is destructive to CA agriculture/nurseries perhaps some drastic measures such as Gov. Brown took should be looked at. Best get it under control ASAP.

I'm in the California agricultural data base because I order and receive plants from out of the area wholesale growers and I have not received any notice or newsletter about scheduling for inspection for this pest.

This leads me to believe that the ag dept. might be letting its guard down in alerting the professional industry.

I regularly receive info about scheduling inspections for the GWSS but nothing about this pest.

Perhaps it is because the fruit tree growers lobbyist are not as monied or powerful as the wine industry lobbyist, which is a sad statement to make, but when the GWSS hit the scene the wine counties raised their voices and pocketbooks so that just about everybody took note.

Or maybe our state goverment cares more for their wine than their table fruit.
Bottoms up.

Hmm. Well, I think the sightings happened just earlier this month. I received the news first via a forward from our CA Rare Fruit Growers president. But soon thereafter, I saw an article or two in the SF Chronicle. It's true, however, that most people seem not to have heard of it yet. I've been trying to circulate the word because I think we are in a crucial period where if we get the word out fast enough, we might be able to vanquish this particular infestation. If not, I shudder to think what gardening and agriculture will be like here. This moth seems to eat anything, reproduces as heavily as most insects do, and doesn't have any real dormant period.

**************

Okay, I just checked my email box. I first got notice of it on 3/29 via the following:

FYI

Sixteen additional light brown apple moths have been found in San
Francisco. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has
established an interim regulatory action in Alameda, Contra Costa and San
Francisco counties. It requires that the 250 pest host items not be
removed from school or community gardens, establishes inspection of retail
nurseries and requires wholesale nurseries to sign compliance agreements
before shipping any products. Thus far 55 of the destructive insects have
been found in the Bay Area.

Steven Knudsen
Legislative Assistant / Outreach Coordinator
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau
(805) 543-3654
Steven@slofarmbureau.org

And?
Spidra.. did you take the picture of the moth yourself that you posted on this initial thread?
Where did you get the pic of this moth?
If this moth is a problem shouldn't some measure of annihiliation be taken?
or
if its not a problem,
its not a problem.
What is the problem?

No. I got the picture from either the CA Dept. of Agriculture site or one of the media reports (and they've gotten them from governmental sources). In the Bug Files entry, I wrote the photo credits down.

I haven't spotted the moth in my garden yet but I'm terrible at identifying bugs. As for action, I don't know what-all they're doing. I gather there have been inspections of nurseries. They've asked gardeners to restrict movement of host plants but they obviously haven't been aggressive enough about getting the word out since loads of people haven't heard it yet.

I'd like to see the county and state circulate free pheromone lures to affected counties, but I've seen nothing like that so far. As far as what I myself am doing, I just had to stop a Freecycle transaction I was about to engage in because the person was going to take the thornless blackberry I offered out of the county. I'm keeping my eyes out. I also wrote a company to ask them how much lures cost but they haven't written me back yet.

I've seen a few articles about it in the Chronicle and it sounds like all they've really done so far is inspections to try and figure out how far it's spread, and they've put out advisories about moving plant material out of areas where the moth has been found.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/14/HOG6TP6TAF1.DTL&feed=rss.homeandgarden


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/14/HOG6TP6TAJ1.DTL&feed=rss.homeandgarden


The moth's longest known natural flight distance is reportedly about 300 yards. So far, light brown apple moths have been trapped in San Francisco; in three Marin County municipalities (Novato, San Rafael and Sausalito); in the East Bay (from Richmond south to Alameda); and recently in Santa Clara County (Palo Alto and Los Altos). There's a map on the state's Department of Food and Agriculture Web site, but it's not very detailed.

Here is an update that appeared in the SF Chronicle today

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/14/HOG6TP6TAJ1.DTL

Our community garden in Sunnyvale has already been contacted by the quarantine folks. We're not under quarantine yet, but since Palo Alto and Los Altos are, it's only a matter of time. I just hope it's delayed a week or so until I can get my last transplants into the garden bed.

Looks like we'll be cooking and dining outdoors in the garden until this is under control.

Ack. Looks like it's spreading.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/17/MOTH.TMP

The latest news/analysis:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/03/MOTH.TMP