Local communities in Perth’s southern suburbs are playing a crucial role in stopping the invasive pest Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) from impacting Western Australia’s edible gardens and fresh food production.
Local communities in Perth’s southern suburbs are playing a crucial role in stopping the invasive pest Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) from impacting Western Australia’s edible gardens and fresh food production.
Qfly is a significant pest that attacks more than 300 host fruit species, including fruiting vegetables such as tomato, chilli and capsicum.
A Quarantine Area remains in place over much of the Perth metropolitan area to stop the movement of host fruit or vegetables within or outside of the Red Zone covering South Perth, Como and Kensington, and parts of Bentley and East Victoria Park.
Red Zone residents and businesses are also required to remove ripe and ripening host fruit and pick up all fallen fruit to help break the Qfly lifecycle. Home grown produce also must not be moved within or out of the zone to prevent further spread of the pest.
Following Quarantine Area directions is essential to support the success of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD’s) biosecurity response, alongside its ongoing monitoring and surveillance efforts.
DPIRD’s biosecurity response team has been working closely with affected communities, surveying and treating for Qfly across more than 8000 properties – chalking up more than 86,000 visits to date and collecting more than 1300 fruit samples for testing.
Incident Controller David Griffiths said public support was helping ensure the success of the Qfly biosecurity response.
“As a keen gardener myself, I greatly appreciate the effort Red Zone residents have made to date by removing and disposing of host fruit and fruiting vegetables,” he said.
“It is terrific to see some residents employing creative methods to cook, freeze, dry or pickle produce to be enjoyed at a later date.
“We thank the community for following the Quarantine Area requirements and encourage residents and businesses to remain vigilant – the collective effort will reduce the Qfly population and support an efficient eradication result.”
DPIRD’s biosecurity response team is also helping home gardeners with large quantities of ripe and ripening fruit by collecting and disposing excess produce.
To date, more than 33 tonnes of host fruit and vegetables have been removed and bagged by residents for proper treatment and disposal by DPIRD.
Any fruit that is not eaten or processed must be solarised – secured in a black plastic bag in the sun for seven days – before being placed in the general waste bin, not the food organics, garden organics (FOGO) bin.
An Orange Zone is also in place covering a broader 15 kilometre radius from the Qfly infestation to provide a buffer and prevent further spread of the pest. Host fruit and fruiting vegetables must not be moved outside of the Orange Zone unless treated by cooking processing or freezing.
Vendors selling fresh produce in the Quarantine Area have also been very supportive of the biosecurity response.
An interactive Quarantine Area map, list of affected plants and information on movement, treatment and disposal requirements is available on the Queensland fruit fly webpage .
The community is encouraged to look for and report suspect Qfly, which are six to eight millimetres long, with a red-brownish torso and yellow patches, dark brown abdomen and clear wings.
