HOUSEFLY CONTROL 



Prevention of Fly Breeding in Manure 



The prevention of fly breeding is the most important single element 

 in housefly control. From the methods of preventing fly breeding 

 outlined below, those should be chosen which best fit local conditions 

 and needs. 



Scattering manure on fields. — The daily removal of manure and 

 other farm waste and the scattering of it on fields are urged wherever 

 practical. A manure spreader helps in doing this. The material 

 should be spread rather thinly so that any fly eggs or young maggots 

 present will be killed by heat, cold, or drying. 



Storage of manure in boxes or pits. — Where it is impractical to 

 scatter manure regularly, boxes or pits may be used for storage (fig. 4). 

 Such structures should be fly-tight, preferably they should be made of 



Figure 4. — A good pit for storing manure to prevent fly breeding. 



concrete, and the doors should be kept closed except while manure is 

 being put in or removed. The manure should be put into the con- 

 tainer promptly so as to reduce fly infestation as much as possible. 

 However, since some infestation is sure to take place, one or more 

 conical or tent-shaped fly traps should be installed on the top of the 

 pit to catch the flies that emerge in the pit. 



Compact ricking of manure. — Where large- quantities of manure 

 must be stored, fly breeding can be largely prevented by piling it in 

 compact rectangular ricks. The manure should be compacted as 

 much as possible. This can be done by driving along the top of the 

 rick with the loads of manure as they are dumped. The ricks are thus 

 formed slightly wider than the wagon, from 3 to 5 feet high, and as long 

 as is necessary to include all the manure. The sides of the ricks should 

 be made as nearly vertical as possible and should be pounded down 

 with a shovel. The heat generated in the manure destroys many of 

 the maggots and drives the rest to the surface, where they may be 

 killed by applying borax (p. 4) or by sprinkling the edges of the pile 



