A minuscule disease-carrying insect continues to be found into the nation's premier orange and lemon growing regions. The state officials of LA have recently found this bug in the Echo Park area, which is the northernmost spotting yet.

A single Asian citrus psyllid was captured from a tree at a home in Los Angeles. This detention has led to a quarantine in which the agency will restrict the movement of citrus plants within five miles of the affected spot. A ground based pesticide program is also on the cards.

The disease spreads when the psyllid feeds and and skips from tree to tree. In the process it ruins the taste of the fruit and juice before causing the plant to die.

The Echo Park discovery, which comes on the heels of a similar find in Santa Ana this month, is "telling us the pest is rapidly moving through the state, and we have to work even harder in tracking the pest to prevent a death sentence to California citrus," said Beth Grafton-Cardwell, a UC Riverside entomologist based in the San Joaquin Valley.

The only hope lies in trapping these bugs and carrying out pesticide treatments. The state must aso be able to identify an affected tree in the initial stages before it begins to spread out.

Homeowners are keen on helping with the prevention and detection which is a great help. Homeowners can get more information at www. californiacitrusthreat. org.

The only other state to have been affected by this disease is Louisiana, but psyllids have now been trapped in six other states: Alabama, California, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.