3KS PREVENTIVE AND REMEDIAL MEASURES 



places are collections of horse-manure or stable refuse. Flies must 

 not be allowed to have access to such stable refuse. In order to 

 attain this end it must be kept in covered fly-proof receptacles 

 and regularly removed or it must be treated with some insecticidal 

 substance. An increasing number of cities and towns are recog- 

 nising the importance of the former of these requirements and are 

 passing and, what is more important, enforcing bye-laws regarding 

 the erection of fly-proof pits or chambers for the temporar}^ storage 

 of manure. It is further necessary to have the floor and interior 

 of the stable well constructed ; the floor should be of solid masonry 

 or concrete to permit good drainage and thorough cleansing. 



Many municipalities have the necessary bye-laws on their 

 statute books but lack the incentive or courage to enforce them. 

 The plain facts already set forth should convince such municipalities 

 of the grave danger to the health of the people they are elected to 

 serve that the presence of breeding places of house-flies constitutes. 



A necessary adjunct to the construction of sanitary stables and 

 the storage of the hoi'se-manure in fly-proof receptacles is the 

 regular removal of the manure. It was observed that flies prefer 

 to oviposit in the warm excreta and on this account eggs are often 

 deposited in the manure before it is thrown into the storage 

 receptacle. From such infested manure flies would emerge if it 

 were not removed well within the shortest time that is occupied 

 in the completion of the life-cycle of the fly. This time is shorter 

 in the summer than in the winter. Therefore, during the summer 

 and autumn months, from June to October, the manure should be 

 removed regularly at intervals not exceeding seven days. A large 

 number of towns and cities require its removal twice a week 

 during this period and this is a wise precaution. During the 

 remainder of the year the period may be extended to nine days or 

 three times each months 



1 Levy and Tuck (1913) and Hutchison (1914) propose that advantage should 

 be taken of the habit which the lan^ae of M. domestica have of migrating from the 

 manure to pupate in the soil or in a drier situation. By placing the manure in 

 receptacles from which the larvae can escape through wii-e gauze sides and bottoms, 

 the larvae can be caught and killed in pans placed beneath such receptacles. By 

 the use of such " maggot-traijs " Hutchinson was able to show that 98 or 99 per 

 cent, of the total number of larvae can be made to leave the manure, provided it is 

 kept moist. 



