Many invasive tephritid species have established in south China. We installed 1374 ME-baited Steiner traps, 1356 CUE-baited Steiner traps and 921 SVWW-baited McPhail traps at 36 sites (2 in Jiangxi, 22 in Chongqing, 4 in Yunnan and 8 in Fujian) in south China to monitor the dynamics of three species each of Bactrocera and Zeugodacus during 2000–2019. The captured tephritids were recorded every 7–10 days during the fly active seasons. We also compared the effectiveness of trapping using yellow glue boards, sanitation (removing damaged fruits), bagging fruits, and insecticide spray application for preventing fruit damage from B. dorsalis (Hendel) and reducing B. dorsalis adult abundance in citrus orchards. Fruit damage rates were examined monthly. ME-baited Steiner traps were used to monitor the effectiveness of treatments on B. dorsalis populations and were examined every 7–10 days from July to October in 2015–2016. Based on traps from 36 sites, the mean capture per trap per year of Z. tau (Walker) was highest (844.21), followed by B. dorsalis (224.62), Z. vultus (Hardy) (175.87), B. scutellata (Hendel) (92.78), Z. cucurbitae (Coquillett) (10.99) and B. minax (Enderlein) (9.17). The B. dorsalis density was highest in Fujian and lowest in Chongqing, while the Z. tau density was highest in Chongqing and lowest in Yunnan. Linear trend analysis showed that these tephritid species, except Z. cucurbitae, became more abundant over the years with B. minax having the greatest increase. All treatment methods were effective in reducing fruit damage from B. dorsalis from mid-August compared to the control. A combination of trapping, sanitation, and insecticide application caused lower B. dorsalis count than trapping, sanitation alone before mid-August and lower trapped tephritid count than insecticide application after mid-August. According to these results, the occurrence trend of tephritids and the effectiveness of control methods in south China are discussed.