Malden apples test positive for maggot larvae

Whitman County official confirms contamination

Roger Harnack, Whitman County Gazette | Sep 17, 20200

Roger Harnack | Whitman County Gazette count

Gov. Jay Inslee carries a bin full of apples into Malden's make-shift town hall on Thursday, Sept. 10. The apples have since tested positive for apple maggot larvae.

MALDEN – The Honeycrisp apples Gov. Jay Inslee brought to Babb Fire victims here were infested with maggot larvae.

Whitman County Washington State University Extension Agent Stephen Van Vleet confirmed the infestation this morning, Friday, Sept. 18, following testing.

"I picked them up on Wednesday evening," he said. "We photographed and secured them. And yes, they are infested."

The governor presented the apples locally Sept. 10 as the state's "first installment" on support to victims of the Babb Fire, which destroyed 121 homes in the Malden-Pine City area.

"They were pretty poor apples," Van...