SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Medfly-Infested Area Sprayed With Malathion

Authorities trying to contain a new infestation of Mediterranean fruit flies were spraying Malathion, planning a release of sterile flies and making door-to-door visits in the San Fernando Valley.

Agriculture officials found 77 Medfly larvae in fruit from a Granada Hills neighborhood, where 11 adult flies were trapped earlier this week. Two female flies were trapped nearby last week.

Ground spraying was expected to be finished Thursday, and millions of sterile flies will be released next week over 30 square miles, said Larry Hawkins, spokesman for the Cooperative Medfly Project. Aerial spraying will not be necessary, he said. Helicopter spraying angered residents in 1990 because the sticky brown malathion bait got on anything left outdoors.

The aerial spraying technique was used because stocks of sterile Medflies, used to stymie breeding, were exhausted. There are plenty of sterile flies now, Hawkins said.