Sterile fly release for Adelaide summer 2024: Prevention is better than cure

Some Adelaide residents may notice a low-flying plane this summer flying over their suburb. Don't be alarmed if you see this plane – it is just one of the State Government's world's best practice proactive tactics against fruit fly. While Riverlanders are still working with us to eradicate Queensland fruit fly outbreaks, Adelaide has been free of fruit fly since all metropolitan outbreaks were successfully eradicated in December 2021.

36 million sterile fruit flies will be released from a low-flying airplane across suburbs around Woodville Gardens in metropolitan Adelaide through February and March 2024. This will commence from Monday 5 February for six weeks. The sterile flies will take to the sky and find trees to settle in, then breed with any wild flies, to break the fruit fly life cycle.

There are no fruit fly outbreaks in Adelaide and by releasing sterile fruit flies as a preventative strategy we plan to keep it that way!

The sterile insect technique (SIT) fly release is in the Woodville Gardens area because of a detection of a single Mediterranean fruit fly there in November 2023, the first fruit fly detection in Adelaide since 2021.

Our permanent monitoring network of 6,024 fruit fly traps across the city occasionally detects a wild fruit fly. These occasional detections do not constitute an outbreak.

The SIT release over Adelaide is timed ahead of the hottest months, when fruit fly risk is highest.

Help keep SA fruit fly free – pick your fruit promptly, collect fallen fruit off the ground, check for signs of fruit fly, and call 1300 666 010 if you see something suspicious.