Canker Quarantine Zone in Florida Enlarged

CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- Citrus officials have discussed it for months, but Bokeelia’s quarantine zone finally goes into effect Wednesday, state officials said.

Cape Coral’s quarantine zone also will be enlarged that day.

The announcement of Bokeelia’s new 1.5-square-mile canker zone will be officially published in two local newspapers Wednesday. 

The same notice also announces a small expansion of Cape Coral’s quarantine zone, said Michael Barnes, who heads the state’s canker eradication project in Lee County.

The southeastern Cape zone will grow by half a square mile, making it a total of 6.75 square miles, Barnes said.

Residents of the quarantine zones are restricted from planting new citrus trees or giving citrus to people elsewhere. Fines range from $50 to $50,000, depending on the severity of the incident.

In addition, landscapers and lawn-care workers must meet strict requirements to work inside the zone. That includes spraying down their shoes and equipment with bleach or antibacterial spray.

Meanwhile, state and U.S. surveyors continue checking trees throughout Lee County. So far, no more canker has been found outside Cape Coral and Pine Island, Barnes said.

The quarantine zones act as a buffer to help stop canker from spreading, state officials said.

Canker is a contagious bacterial disease that causes premature fruit drop and blemished fruit. It isn’t harmful to humans.

State chain-saw crews have chopped 497 citrus trees in Bokeelia since April 29, when surveyors found the first cankerous Key lime tree, Barnes said. Nineteen of those trees were cankerous.

Barnes hopes no more canker turns up on Pine Island.

“Hopefully, we’ll survey for two years and be done with it,” he said.

The quarantine zone lasts two years, unless another cankerous tree is found. If that happens, the clock restarts and the quarantine lasts another two years.

The Bokeelia zone stretches north to Cubles Drive and south to Birdsong Lane.

Zone residents said they aren’t thrilled by the news, but they understand why it’s being done.

“I think it’s a good thing to stop it while they can,” said Carol Whitlock, 69, of Tarpon Road. Whitlock has one orange tree.

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“I think everybody feels like we have to get rid of it,” she said.

Jessica Williams, 29, of Marlin Road, owns two citrus trees. She disagreed with the state’s policy of cutting uninfected citrus trees near cankerous trees, but she didn’t have a problem with the quarantine rules.

“We need to get rid of the canker,” she said. “This is all understandable.”

Cape Coral’s quarantine zone is expanding because of a cankerous Key lime tree found April 9 at 4505 S.W. 1st Ave. The new zone moves slightly west to Southwest 5th Place and slightly north to Southeast 40th Street.

Mangos — Pine Island’s signature fruit — aren’t citrus and aren’t affected by citrus canker.

The quarantines don’t necessarily mean more citrus trees will be chopped, Barnes said. That only happens to infected trees or trees within 1,900 feet of infected trees.