Borax may be new cure for Medfly fruit flies.
February 6, 1999
Borax Eyed in Medfly Spraying
Filed at 5:01 p.m. EST
By The Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A substance found in laundry detergents may be a safe
alternative to the controversial pesticide malathion in the battle against the
crop-destroying Medfly, two scientists say.
''If you want to compare malathion with borax in the way we propose to use
it, this thing is safe. Period,'' said Herb Nigg, one of the scientists.
Nigg and colleague Sam Simpson, who work at the University of Florida
Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, recently received a U.S.
patent for their idea. They say borax works by preventing female flies from
laying eggs.
Agriculture officials today use malathion to kill the Mediterranean fruit fly.
The treatment has been controversial. In 1997, more than 700 health
complaints were reported after widespread aerial spraying of malathion in a
four-county area of Tampa Bay.
The fly, smaller than a household fly, targets 250 kinds of vegetables and
fruits, especially citrus. State officials fear that if an infestation gained a
foothold, it would threaten Florida's $7 billion agriculture industry.
Nigg and Simpson say a low concentration of borax -- about one-half of 1
percent in water-based bait -- stopped egg production in female flies for up to
seven days.
Borax is especially attractive because it has a long history of safe human use,
the scientists said.
''It's a very common chemical, found in many households,'' Nigg said.
In California, which has been dealing with fruit flies longer than Florida,
scientists were intrigued by the borax idea.
''My hat's off to anybody who's after this,'' said James Carey, a professor of
entomology at the University of California-Riverside. ''We're all intensely
trying to find some alternatives to malathion. And my gut feeling is, borax is
as good as any.''
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