REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST 125 



The House Fly. 

 Beware of the Dungeroiis Honse-Fly! Wherever he goes death and 

 •disease may follow. War to the death should be declared upon the little 

 pest. His presence is a disgrace. His touch may be deadly. Either 

 man must kill the fly or the fly will kill the man. If there is no dirt 

 and filth there will be no flies. There will be fewer dead babies if there 

 are no flies. 



Again Tour Attention is Called to the Dangerous Honse-Fly. 



It is at this time of the year that the house fly begins to take on life 

 for the ensuing spring and summer; eggs laid last fall will soon begin to 

 hatch. At first he is only a little worm, wriggling his tiny grub-like 

 form in some incubating pile of filth. He is usually found in the manure 

 pile, the outhouse or the mound of rubbish of garbage in the back yard. 

 In this condition he is easily killed — and it should be the duty of every 

 person to kill him now. The house-fly could not exist if everything 

 were kept perfectly clean and sanitary. Exterminate the fly worm; do 

 away with its breeding places and there will be no flies. If we are to 

 fight the flies this summer we should use every agency possible, and the 

 best way to fight them is to prevent their breeding. 



The common house-fiy is coming to be known as the "typhoid fly"; 

 and when the term becomes universal greater care will be exerciesd in 

 protecting the house from his presence. 



Flies kill a greater number of human beings than all the beasts of 

 prey, with all of the poisonous serpents added. They spread disease 

 which slays thousands, while big, powerful beasts kill single victims. 



As soon as the fly comes out of his shell he is full grown and starts 

 out in the world to make a living, and if your home is not clean he 

 knows it by the odor. They can discern an odor of filth for miles. 



As much as they like filth odors they dislike other odors. Where 

 a bad odor will attract them the clean odor will repulse them. A 

 pleasant smelling substance — the fragance of flowers, geraniums, migno- 

 nette, lavender or any perfumery — will drive them away. 



He is a frequenter of offal; the fly lays her eggs in the manure pile or 

 other objectionable filth. All the germs — all the imagable, abominable 

 microbes — fasten themselves on the spongy feet of the fly. He brings 

 them into the house and wipes them off his feet. The fly you see walking 

 over the food you are about to eat is covered with filth and germs. If 

 there is any dirt in house or about your premises, or those of your neigh- 

 bors, he^has just come from it. It is his home. Watch him as he stands 

 on the lump of sugar industriously wiping his feet. He is wiping off 

 the disease germs; rubbing them on the sugar that your are going to eat, 

 leaving the poison for you to swallow. 



He wipes his feet on the food that you eat, on the faces and on the 

 lips of your sleeping children. This does more to spread typhoid fever 

 and cholera infantum and other intestinal diseases than any other cause. 



Disease attacks human beings only when they are brought in con- 



