On December 5, 2025, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Texas Department of Agriculture established a Mexican fruit fly quarantine in La Feria, Cameron County, Texas. The area has been designated as the La Feria quarantine.
The action follows the confirmed detection on December 3 of a single Mexican fruit fly larva in a grapefruit collected from a commercial citrus grove in La Feria. The quarantine area covers approximately 70.99 square miles and includes about 831.3 acres of commercial citrus production.
APHIS has implemented safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles to limit the spread of the Mexican fruit fly to non-infested areas within the United States and to reduce the risk of introduction into foreign markets. These measures are being carried out in coordination with the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Eradication activities are being conducted in line with established program guidelines, including survey, treatment, and regulatory actions, to address the transient Mexican fruit fly population.
Information on current federal fruit fly quarantine areas, including maps and descriptions, is available on the APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies website. APHIS will publish a formal notice of the quarantine in the Federal Register.
For more information:
Catherine Marzolf
USDA
Tel: +1 386 666 9932
Email: [email protected]
www.aphis.usda.gov
