THOSE FLIES!

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 11, 2 February 1942, Page 2

THOSE FLIES!

LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT "Aren't the Hies bad this summer?" Every year we hear it without fail. i>ast summer they were bad, the summer before they were bail, and countless summers before that they were bad. But what are we doing about it? Th quarrel that many people have ivi.lh Hies is confined to their irritating habit of tickling where they alight and the need for having to snap out of a comfortable doze, perhaps. tei shoo them off. This concern for personal eomlort completely ignores the more serious aspect of the fly's attention—that is,, the spreading of disease germs.

If, instead of complaining about the "darned little pest," these same people did something to expunge tlio cause cif the complaint, they would be doing a necessary and worthwhile job. And, incidentally, they would not be bothered nearly as much.

If these people—and they are in the majority—would realise thai every time a fly crawled across then' foreheads, or their legs, or any other exposed part of their anatomy, it left a trail of assorted bacteria, they would probably Avorry about something more than the temporary personal tribulation.

Unwelcome Visitors The ily is one of the filthiest and foulest creatures known to, mankind. Every summer they come in their millions; every summer they are constant visitors at our meal tables, sipping the milk or tasting the sugar or jam. A minute later they may be tasting a dainty morsel in the garbage tin or on the rubbish Lip. One second a ily may be feeding on the most indescribable- filth, and the next it may be buzzing round the kitchen locking for soinething nice and clean and tasty to nibble.

In one unguarded moment an appetising and attractive disli may be converted into something dangcious, and even deadly—a breeding ground for the poisonous bacteria of typhoid fever, dysentery, summer sickness, even tuberculosis and skin infections. All these diseases are spread by the Ily. lhc bacteiia adhere to the legs and bodies, and are also carried in the stomach and intestines. Each fly, therefore, is literally loaded with poison—a winged evii which strikes swiftly and indiscriminately, a hit and run expert with terrific mobility. A Prolific Pest Let's get another picture of the enemy. An adult female fly will lay, as a rule, from 120' to 150 eggs at one sitting. Under favourable conditions so far as moisure and temperature are concerned, these e may become mature Hies in about ten days, and the second generation may lay its first batch of eggs another ten days later. According to the figures arrived at by one industrious authority on the subject, a llv can produce roughly G,000,000, ~ 000,000 descendants in a single season —assuming, of course, that all the progeny survive. This, fortunately, is not likely. But those figures will convey some idea of the appalling fecundity of the common little fly, which is born in filth, breeds in filth, and. thrives on it.

The cardinal rule in the anti-fly campaign is to eliminate the breeding places. It is far better to prevent flies from breeding than to permit them tci breed and then attempt to exterminate the resultant broods after they have invaded the house. You cannot, therefore, regard as efficient any system of sanitary control that harbours disease germs.

Favourite Breeding Places The fly will breed in almost any fermenting matter, provided it is fairly moist. Stable manure is probably its favourite ground, but house refuse, garbage, rotting rags or paper, decaying vegetables and fruit all serve the same purpose. The stable manure problem is more of a worry in the country, where special efforts should be made to make it unattractive to flies. By close packing the manure, the eggs and maggots of the fly will be killed by tiie heat produced in fermentation, and a solution of tlie following sprayed or sprinkled on the surface of the manure is invaluable-: — Soz of arsenate of soda, half a pint of treacle, and 20 gallons of water.

A mixture of %lb of hellebore mixed Avith 10 gallons of water and left to stand for 24 hours is effective, and powdered borax applied to manure at the rale of lib of borax to 16 cubic feet of manure is recommended. It may be watered afterwards. Borax may also be applied as a solution, made up to , lib of borax to gallons of water. Be sure that the manure does not get a double dose. Incidentally, chloride of lime has little, if any, effect in preventing Lhe breeding of house Hies. Fly-proof Recentables Household refuse and all garbage must be kept in receptables with closely-fitting lids. They shou'd be really and not nominally fly-proof. All food must be kept properly screened, and, inside the house, steps should be taken to kill as many as possible by the constant use of fly traps, fly papers and sprays.

A useful solution is made by adding an eunee of formalin to a pint of milk and water and exposing the 1 uiuid iii dishes about the room. It is essential for the success of tlus poison that no other liquid should attract the Hies. Never let up in this conflict. If you don't get the flies, they may get you, and remember: it's not the flies you kill that matter so much as the ones which get away. The Health Department takes a very serious view of the lly menace, a.ml its advice is always available to those who require lit.