Quarantine Crackdown: State and Feds Unleash Fury on Florida Fruit Fly Menace

As the battle against the deadly Mediterranean fruit fly raged on in Florida, state and federal authorities launched a crackdown on the quarantine area, determined to stamp out the pest that threatened to devastate the state’s citrus industry. On this day, April 25, 1929, State plant board officials, federal entomologists, and State Guardsmen, acting as pickets, descended upon the quarantine zone with renewed vigor, determined to make their task effective. The State Guardsmen, posted along the edges of the quarantine area, were ordered to make a more diligent effort to stop every vehicle leaving the area, searching for any possible infested products. While the majority of those leaving the area cooperated with the checks, a few stubborn individuals resisted, sparking a tense standoff. Meanwhile, the Florida Citrus Growers Clearing House Association and the State plant board remained tight-lipped about the fate of President Hoover’s recommendation for $4,250,000 to combat the pest, fueling speculation that state funds would be sufficient to win the war against the fly.