Citrus Pest Discovered In Ventura County

VENTURA (AP) — Ventura County officials say a citrus pest that can carry a disease that kills trees has been discovered in Camarillo.

County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales announced that an Asian citrus psyllid was found in the Spanish Hills neighborhood last Thursday.

The Ventura County Star reports that the pest is the third one found in the county and the first to be trapped in a residential area. The first two were found in commercial groves.

Ventura County is under quarantine for the tiny aphid-like pest.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture was expected to survey the area this weekend before it begins treatments with two pesticides.

The Asian citrus psyllid can carry the huanglongbing disease. The untreatable disease has yet to be found in California, but it has ruined crops in several southeastern U.S. states.

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