Supervisors Take Aim at Eye Gnats

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday gave initial approval to a plan to reduce the number of eye gnats generated at two large organic farms in south Escondido and the East County community of Jacumba.

The plan, developed by the county Department of Environmental Health's Eye Gnat Intervention Working Group, focuses on abatement in cooperation with the owners of the farms. However, if gentler measures fail, the plan could allow for the spraying of pesticides.

The farms do not use pesticides in order to maintain their organic status, and nearby residents have complained about hordes of gnats for years. Some told the supervisors Wednesday they cannot allow their children outside at certain times, while seniors are unable to work in their own gardens.

"Yes, we do expect them, but not at the levels the farm is growing them," Jacumba resident Danielle Cook said of the bugs.

Many Rancho Bernardo residents also have complained about the eye gnats.

DEH Director Jack Miller told the supervisors that the gnats are endemic to certain parts of the county, and certain farming operations, particularly organic, can greatly increase breeding.

"They become a nuisance to humans and animals when they attack our eyes, nose and mouth, seeking a protein source for their breeding," Miller said.

Among the proposed procedures are to set up traps, build walls around the farms and instituting a ban on turning fresh produce into the soil. Both farms have started taking some steps voluntarily.

They are the only two of nearly 350 organic farms in San Diego County to generate complaints about eye gnats, Miller said.

If the farms are unable to limit the amount of gnats, the DEH can order non-organic pesticides to be used on the farms as a last resort, according to the plan. Such action could cost an agricultural operation its organic certification.

Miller said the proposed plan needs further environmental review, which could begin next month. The earliest it would return to the Board of Supervisors, along with an implementing ordinance, would be in July, Miller said.

The vote was 4-0. Supervisor Bill Horn, a farmer in Valley Center, recused himself.

-City News Service