XPost: alt.usage.english   
   From: ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid   
      
   On Fri, 8 Apr 2016 12:54:59 +0100, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.folklore.urban,   
   in article , Janet wrote:   
      
   >  On a previous trip during a foot and mouth epidemic here, as we   
   >disembarked in Darwin, customs required us to unpack all our shoes and   
   >remove the ones we were wearing; they were taken away to be cleaned and   
   >disinfected. Australian biosecurity is really tight; good thing IMO.   
      
   You won't get an argument from me - for over 60 years, trucks entering   
   the state of California were required to undergo Agricultural Inspection   
   a few miles into the state.  California is a major agricultural producer   
   here, and they take conditions seriously.  Back around 1980, there was a   
   "Mediterranean fruit fly" infestation that threatened fruit crops in   
   Northern California (especially the Santa Clara (a.k.a. Silicon) valley   
   near San Jose (just South of San Francisco) and the San Joaquin (central)   
   valley to the East.  The governor (who happens to be the same guy now -   
   "Jerry Brown") resisted the idea for a while, but finally ordered aerial   
   spraying to eradicate the fly - think Huey helicopters flying in line   
   abreast formation less than 100 meters / 350 feet above the ground at   
   night, spraying malathion over an area of ~1300 miles^2 / 3400 km^2 every   
   couple of days for months (one source says "up to" 30 applications in   
   some cities).  In the central valley, they used 1940s era Douglas DC-4s   
   (C-54s) - four engine piston aircraft that were used in trans-atlantic   
   passenger service immediately after WW2, flying about 1000 meters /   
   3000-3500 feet above the ground, also in line abreast formations, but   
   during the days.   In the Bay area, we knew to wash/rinse the cars the   
   next morning (you KNEW they had sprayed - helicopters flying like that   
   are hard to miss), but I got caught while working in the Central valley,   
   and had the paint job on the car fade away.  They also had the brilliant   
   idea of releasing millions of sterilized flies in an attempt to "control"   
   the spread of flies.  Homeowner who had fruit trees were required to pick   
   and bag the fruit (for pickup and destruction by the government) as well.   
      
   They're a bit more aggressive now - a total of 14 Oriental Fruit Flies   
   were found in Santa Clara county last year in two area - and they're   
   using a attractant lure with insecticide applied to fixed objects (such   
   as street trees, light poles and similar), every two weeks for an eight   
   week period.   
      
           Old guy   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)