328 



JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



[Vol. 8 



Summary of Control Measures Suggested 



The fact that carrion breeding flies have been looked upon largely 

 as beneficial insects on account 'lof their habits as scavengers and the 

 failure to associate in the minds of ordinary individuals, these scaven- 

 ger flies and the flies which infest living animals and food, it is rather 

 difficult to secure the adoption of remedial measures based upon the 

 prevention of fly breeding in decaying animal matter. Nevertheless, 

 this is the key to the whole sj^stem of control. The presence of screw 

 worms in the southwest has come to be looked upon by stockmen as a 

 necessary evil and year after year they continue to practice the treat- 

 ment of infested animals without giving any attention to the sources 

 from which the myriads of flies come. 



The appearance of anthrax or charbon among herds in portions of 

 Texas has, under the laws, compelled the destruction of animals dying 

 from this disease. Many stockmen have, out of fear of the malady, 

 proceeded to burn all dead animals, and this has had a salutor}^ effect 

 on the screw worm situation in some sections. Destruction hy burning 

 is the preferred method of disposing of carrion. In many cases, how- 

 ever, this work is not thoroughly done and the partially consumed 

 carcass continues to breed out flies. An objection to this method of 

 disposing of animal matter is that in some sections wood is very scarce, 

 hence the burning is rather costly. Crude oil or kerosene may be 

 largely substituted for wood in such cases. Other objections to the 

 feasibihty of the destruction of carcasses on the large ranches in west 

 Texas are the difficulty of finding the dead animals until at least one 

 brood of flies has been produced and the fact that carcasses of wild 

 animals may also breed considerable numbers of flies, but these do 

 not nearly offset the protection derived from the consistent destruc- 

 tion of animals which are promptly located after death. It appears 

 that where Chrysomyia and other species are prevented from increasing 

 to great numbers, the chances of living animals being attacked are 

 almost negligible. 



Second to the burning of carcasses comes burying. Our experi- 

 ments indicate that it is necessary to cover a dead animal, which has 

 become infested with maggots, to a depth of at least two feet in order' 

 to prevent the completion of development and the emergence of flies. 

 If animals are buried before they become infested this depth may be 

 greatly reduced, as a few" inches of soil well packed over a carcass will 

 prevent adult flies or their offsprings from reaching it. 



In order to prevent infestation of man or animals, protection of 

 wounds from the flies is essential. Man, especially when subject to 

 chronic catarrh, should not sleep in the open without protection by a fly 



