Kepratenting the five organlzatlont which 

 ore in the tight to rid the state of filet are 

 (left to right) H. B. Petty, extension en- 

 tomologist. Natural HUtory Survey; James 

 Williams, Illinois Public Health Service; 

 trancls Longmire, extension service. Uni- 

 versity of Illinois; S. E. Myers, form adviser, 

 Adams County farm Bureau; and- Hoger f. 

 GIsfi, soil conservation activities depart- 

 ment, lAA. 



StaJd 



TODAY ON FLY COIVTROI 



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SEVENTY-FIVE per cent of fly 

 control depends on sanitation, 

 H. B. Petty, insect specialist for 

 the Illinois College of Agricul- 

 ture and State Natural History 

 Survey, told leaders in the 1949. Illinois 

 fly control campaign in 'April. 



Petty spoke at a series of nihe kick- 

 oflF meetings held throughout the state 

 to make final plans and start the ball 

 rolling in the 1949 war on flies. 



Flies start to emerge in greater num- 

 bers this month during the warm days 

 of late spring. So both farmers and 

 urban dwellers were advised by fly cam- 

 paign leaders to strike now when so 

 much can be done to reduce the num- 

 ber of flies and their descendants. 



Farm and civic leaders met to chart 

 their fly- fighting courses over the sum- 

 mer months. The question most both- 

 ersome seemed to be "Should I spray 

 my dairy cattle with DDT.?" 



Petty's answer is "No, do not use 

 DDT in the dairy barn. Use DDT 

 everywhere else but use methoxychlor 

 in the dairy barn and on dairy cows." 



Last year farmers were advised to 

 use DDT in dairy barns but when traces 

 of DDT were found in milk, the Pure 

 Food and Drug Administration said it 

 would confiscate interstate shipments of 

 milk contaminated by DDT. 



Jim Williams of the Illinois Public 

 Health Service echoed the remarks of 

 Petty on sanitation. Williams pointed 

 out that without sanitation your fly- 

 control program may turn out to be a 

 failure. 



A good fly control program requires 

 strict cleanliness. If there were no 

 breeding places there would be no flies. 

 And flies must breed in filth. So clean 

 out your garbage containers at least 

 once a week then spray with DDT. 

 Keep lids on garbage cans. Get rid of 

 all decaying organic matter. That in- 

 cludes such things as manure piles. 



10 



Regular disposal will eliminate breed- 

 ing places. 



Now that you have finished the first 

 step in good fly control — sanitation — 

 the next step in use of DDT and methox- 

 yclor. Paint screen doors, screen 

 windows, and porch ceilings on your 

 house once a month with DDT — 25 

 per cent emulsifiable diluted to five per 

 cent strength. 



The number of flies you find is a 

 guide to the number of times you need 

 to spray. Outdoor places where flies 

 roost should be sprayed at least once 

 a month with DDT. You will get best 

 control of stable flies that way. They 

 like to roost in trees where cattle go 

 for shade. 



For non-dairy animals mix a quarter 

 pound of 50 per cent wettable DDT 

 powder in three gallons of water. Ap- 

 ply two quarts of this solution to each 

 animal once a month. 



Besides adding to the comfort of 

 both man and animals, the fly control 

 program means extra profits to farmers. 



Last summer more than 100,000 Illi- 

 nois farmers spent about $1,250,000 

 for fly control. Petty said, but they 

 earned $4,661,000 in extra profits be- 

 cause of faster gains on beef cattle and 

 greater production from dairy cattle. 



That in itself should be reason 

 enough for every farmer to join in the 

 fly control program this summer but 

 here is an even more significant rea- 

 son. Williams points out that flies 

 carry more than 20 human diseases in- 

 cluding typhoid fever, tuberculosis, dys- 

 entery, smallpox, diphtheria, and quite 

 probably the dread poliomyelitis (in- 

 fantile paralysis). If you have any 

 children about your farm it is only 

 good common sense to protect them 

 against fly-borne diseases by a good san- 

 itation and spray program. May is the 

 month to start. Don't let the flies get 

 ahead of you. 



Some strains of flies have developed re- 

 sistance to DDT usually in a com- 

 munity where DDT has been used at 

 least three years. Petty suggested, 

 however, that where there is resistance 

 use chlordane instead of DDT but 

 don't use it on dairy cows or in the 

 dairy barn. 



DDT, methoxychlor, and chlordane 

 are all poisonous but with a little care 

 can be used without danger. Here are 

 a few precautions: don't contaminate 

 livestock feed, water troughs or feeding 

 bunks; keep it out of reach of children; 

 in closed areas wear a respirator or get 

 out as soon as possible; avoid contact 

 with skin and wash thoroughly with 

 soap and water after using; follow di- 

 rections of manufacturer on the con- 

 tainer. 



If your fly-control work seems a 

 failure, Petty suggests that you re- 

 check your sanitation program. You 

 cannot overemphasize sanitation for the 

 control of flies, Petty says. 



lAA Field Secretary George E. 

 Metzger points out that you can rid 

 your farm of flies for as little as $10 

 worth of spray materials plus a little time 

 and effort. 



The four sponsoring agencies of the 

 1948 campaign are back in the fore- 

 front in the 1949 fly-control campaign 

 — Illinois Agricultural Association, 

 Illinois College of Agriculture Exten- 

 sion Service, Illinois Natural History 

 Survey, and Illinois Department of 

 Public Health. 



County Farm and Home Bureaus will 

 lead the drive in rural areas where the 

 drive was most successful last year. 

 Efforts will be made to stimulate great- 

 er interest in the cities with the help 

 of newspapers, women's clubs, service 

 clubs, radio stations and chambers of 

 commerce. 



L A. A. RECORD 



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