BULLETIN OF THE 
No. 200 
Contribution from the Bureau of Entomology, L. O. Howard, Chief 
Mav4, 1915. 
A MAGGOT TRAP IN PRACTICAL USE; AN 
EXPERIMENT IN HOUSE-FLY CONTROL. 
By R. H. Hutchison, Scientific Assistant. 
INTRODUCTION. 
During the season of 1913 experiments were carried out independ- 
ently by Levy and Tuck at Kichmond, Va., by C. G. Hewitt at 
Ottawa, Canada, and by the writer at Arlington, Va., and New 
Orleans, La., all of which agreed in demonstrating a most pro- 
nounced migratory habit in house-fly larvae just before pupa- 
tion. It was found very easy to trap them at this particular stage 
of their development, and experiments with small maggot traps 
showed that as high as 98 or 99 per cent of the larvae could be caught. 
At the suggestion of Mr. W. D. Hunter the writer has made an 
attempt during the past season to apply the principles of the maggot 
trap to practical use and to test its efficiency when used to destroy 
the maggots in large masses of manure. In this article are reported 
the results obtained from experimental work along this line, con- 
ducted at the Maryland Agricultural College at College Park, Md. 
Dr. H. J. Patterson, president of the college and director of the 
experiment station, has been most generous in his cooperation in 
this work, and through, him the materials and labor for the con- 
struction of the trap were supplied. The writer wishes also to 
acknowledge the helpful suggestions of Profs. T. B. Symons and E. N. 
Cory, of the college. 
LOCAL CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO FLY PREVALENCE AND BREED- 
ING PLACES. 
The college was selected as a suitable place for conducting the ex- 
periment, parti}' because the conditions with regard to breeding 
places for flies seemed such that it would be easy to determine 
whether or not the maggot trap was effective. The college is some- 
Note.— This bulletin describes the operations of a maggot trap based on the migratory habit of 
house-fly maggots just before pupation. It will be of interest to all farmers and to those industries in 
which the accumulation of refuse may encourage the propagation of the house fly. 
82252°— Bull. 200—15 
