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Lefroy (H. M.). The Control of Flies and Vermin in Mesopotamia. 

 — Separate, dated October 19 IG, from Agric. J I. of India, xi, 

 part 4, pp. 323-331. [Received 13t]i December 1916.] 



^ The most abmidant flies in Mesopotamia belong principally to the 

 (^ genera Musca, Calliphora and Stomoxys. Almost every disease in this 

 country is carried by flies or by water. The fly-problem really falls 

 into three sections, viz : — Flies in camps, trenches, etc.; flies in towns ; 

 and those accompanying moving bodies of troops. The chief breeding 

 places in camps are the latrine trenches ; stable manure is compara- 

 tively harmless, owing to its rapid desiccation and kitchen refuse is 

 usually burnt or buried. Owing to the dry and barren character of the 

 country, it is only where man is present that flies can find shelter, food 

 or breeding places. In towns, it is more a question of extermination 

 than prevention, as the native houses swarm wdth flies and camps are 

 often very close to them. Bodies of men on the move carry hordes of 

 flies with them, and often find millions to greet them on arriving at a 

 camp which has been used before. In hospitals, supplies and staffs 

 to carry out the obvious measures are badly needed. 



A simple set of instructions was prepared and issued and the following 

 measures recommended : Latrine trenches should be replaced by 

 tins and incinerators, wherever possible. When this is not possible, 

 ordinary burning oil has proved the most effective. This oil should 

 be used even with tins, as it prevents flies settling. Kitchen refuse 

 and offal must be burned or oiled and buried. Sodium arsenite proved 

 an excellent fly poison, | lb. of arsenite being used with 2| lb. of gur 

 and 2 1 gals, water. Bags are dipped in this mixture and hung up ; 

 a shelter should be put over them and the bags kept moist. This 

 solution is weak enough not to affect the flies until they have fed ; if 

 made too strong, they are aft'ected before they acquire a fatal dose. 

 An excellent plan is to arrange strij)s of material on the roller towel 

 principle so that part of it dips in the tin ; as the liquid dries and gets 

 too concentrated, water is added. This bait seems to attract from a 

 range of 200 yards and fly-poisoning stations should therefore be set up 

 every quarter of a mile or so and, when possible, at a point between 

 the latrines and the camp. 



In the trenches flies collect in masses in sheltered spots at night and 

 at mid-day and can be killed in bulk by spraying. For this purpose, a 

 special grade of mineral oil with a small quantity of aromatic essential 

 oil, such as citronella (known as " Flybane " in England), is used. 



For hospital tents and buildings, formalin can be used, but the new 

 fly-spray, Exol, known as " Miscible fly spray," gives the best results. 

 It is mixed with water and sprayed in the air. This formula may have 

 to be altered to suit the climate in Mesopotamia. Large quantities 

 have been made for the War Office, who will not publish the formula for 

 public use until the army has all it needs. For hospitals, an ample 

 supply of netting, mosquito nets, etc. , have been found essential. 



In the author's opmion, it is better for bodies of men on the move 

 who camp for not more than three days at a time, to have no trench 

 latrines, but to mark off a space of clean, hard ground, where the heat 

 and dryness are such that flies cannot breed in the material, which 

 desiccates at once. This, however, is contrary to the sanitary expert's 

 ideas. 



