An invasive fruit fly has taken hold in Redlands. Now fruit is being removed from more than 2000 homes across the city.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture, or CDFA, began removing fruit on Monday.
The oriental fruit fly is an invasive species that lays eggs in fruit like citrus and avocados. Those eggs turn into maggots and render the fruit inedible.
“They are carried…usually either by travelers who bring products back with them on their travels. And those products are harboring fruit flies, or by the shipment of products from overseas," said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the CDFA.
The flies could cause billions of dollars in losses if they move to commercial farms. Lyle says they use some pesticides, but the best way to get rid of the flies is to remove the fruit so they can’t breed.