HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 January 1942, Page 2

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

WHAT ABOUT THAT FLY? AN ENEMY TO WATCH. (By the Health Department). Our friendly enemy the fly is with us again. Every summer he comes out of the blue in his millions, shares the choicest of our dishes, makes himself too thoroughly at home, and in return scatters assorted germs all over the place, to our constant risk and peril. If he wasn’t so friendly, he would not be such an obnoxious enemy; anti in this case familiarity is liable to breed more than contempt. It can breed such diseases as typhoid fever, dysentery, summer sickness, even tuberculosis, and also skin infections. What are we doing about the fly? In many instances his presence is treated as a matter of course, as something that can’t be avoided. If, however, one could see what happened when■ a fly crawled across a morsel of food, or across the back of one’s hand, that can’t-be-bothered feeling would give way to a sense of horror. The fly is literally loaded with germs. They breed inside him, and cluster on his legs. Every time he alights on fermenting or putrefying matter, he gathers more foulness; and every time he alights on something or some one he scatters a trail of it. To combat him successfully his breeding ground must be eliminated. He is particularly partial to house refuse, stable manure, decaying fruit and vegetables and grass cuttings and garden rubbish heaps, and other matter. In the case of stable manure, close packing and the use of one of the many suitable sprays are effective, but other refuse must be kept well covered or destroyed without delay.

Inside the house see that all food is properly screened. Take steps to kill the flies by the use of fly traps, fly papers and sprays.

An ounce of formalin added to a pint of milk or water makes a useful trap. Expose the liquid in shallow receptacles, but be careful to see that there is no counter-attraction in the way of food or liquid to draw the fly’s attention elsewhere.