814-Lancasttr Farming, Saturday, September 10, 1988
Farmers’
BELTS VILLE, Md.— Flies
from neighboring farms aren’t one
of the charms of country life, resi
dents of many rural housing deve
lopments have discovered.
As a result, fly-bitten suburba
nites have pressured farmers in
some areas - especially those rais
ing livestock ~ to eliminate the
insects or evacuate their animals
from nearby fields.
“It’s a growing problem in
almost all parts of the country, but
CortKIOHT © WATION4U SOCIETY
A tempting dinner for a hungry fly might consist of sugar,
baking powder, yeast, honey, dried blood or fish meal, and
banana flavoring. The experimental bait, developed by the
U.S. Agricultural Research Service, attracts the insects to a
trap. It’s one of several attractants being tested in Beltsville,
Md., in response to burgeoning fly populations in suburbs
next to farms, where flies thrive, particularly around lives
tock. Scientists are also working on other new types of
traps.
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1820 Millcrcck Road, York, PA 17404 (717) 292-6668 or 764-0494
Flies Bug Suburbanites
especially where developers are
gobbling up farmlands,” says
Lawrence G. Pickens, a research
entomologist with the federal
Agricultural Research Service
here.
The Agricultural Department
estimates that nationally, new
housing and other urban develop
ment claim 900,000 to 1.5 million
acres annually.
Pickens speaks from firsthand
experience. Maryland officials
gave the Beltsville center an ulti
matum two years ago: Either con
trol the flies or get rid of the farm
animals.
So far the animals have stayed,
thanks to an aggressive control
program that Pickens devised.
Improved traps and baits, which he
hopes will ultimately have a
nationwide impact, play a big part
in his efforts.
“Until recently we’ve had trou
ble with baits.” Pickens tells
*t>KtNS St
JAN
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5,000 mouthwaiermg dungs to
eat and dnnk plus a hill range of ndes
and games to delight eveiyone.
For Free Stage Shaes And
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» Enjoy eontmuous
hee entertainment
including: The
Hannetoid FanuK
J > Cncus, Flic loi
*\ ‘•mS. _ x- . * v-. Jan’s Globe ot
*'* —' i) e ath (a daiedcnil
motoicycle exhibition), The Nichols Biothers (a
multi-talented musical gioup) and moiel Hollywood
Stunt World (an auto thrill slkm ) and Harness Racing,
a Fan Uadition aie both tree giandstand attractions
tliat vou won’t want to miss And, don’t loiget about
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For America's Okiest Festival Of Fun
Now celebiating its 22did veai, tltc Fan has tliou
sands ot things to see and do, lain 01 shine 1 lee and
leduced admission daxs aie easy on vour pocketbook
and tltere’s parking right on the giounds Ihe I TSS
Wk Fan has lots ol old lashioneel and new (angled
teatuies and, as everybody knows,
“ITS THE BEST TIME YOU’LL HAVE ALL YEAR"
Lor more inlomuum and complete schedule ot aciniues. contact the Nork Fait 334 Carlisle Vvime, \ork, l?\ 17404
National Georgraphic News Ser
vice. “Some have contained
dangerous ingredients; others have -
either been smelly, costly, or diffi
cult to prepare. But now I think
we’ve come up with a winner.”
The experimental concoction'
contains sugar, baking powder,
yeast, honey, dried blood or fish
meal, and banana flavoring. Two
1-inch cubes of the bait, shaped in
an ordinary ice tray, are placed in a
pan of water beneath a cylindrical
aluminum trap. Once inside, the
insects fly upward through a nar
row cone, drawn by die sunlight
that shines through the plexiglass
top of the trap.
They can’t escape, and starve to
death within a day. As many as
20,000 flies can be captured in the
trap before it has to be emptied. |
A little knowledge of fly beha-1
vior makes traps and baits moe
effective. For instance, Pickens
says, the insects cruise about 3 feet
above the ground and like to fly
along the edges of shrubs, fences,
or rows of trees. Inside buildings
they tend to go down near the floor
and patrol the perimeter of a room.
They have been known to cover 5
miles a day in search of food.
Laboratory tests have convinced
Pickens that flics can discern some
differences in colors and have a
natural affinity for light. The
bright white “Beltsville pyramid,”
another trap devised by the ento
mologist, shows great promise and
is being tested at farms in the
region.
jpsssmsa^
L For Exhibits, Displays And
Demonstrations
yj| SEE— the East’s laigest livestock show (12
9Mp buildings worth!) as well as outstanding agn
cultuial, domestic and crah displays.
Measuring 2 feet square at the
base and standing 2 feet tall, the
inexpensive plywood structure is
covered with sheets of plastic
treated with an adhesive that can
snare 3,000 flies. The pyramid
works better than other shapes
because its surface reflects light
uniformly, Pickens explains.
Scientists at the center are work
ing on a weatherproof insecticide,
harmless to at .ils, that would
coat the pyramius. it would elimi
nate the nuisance of having to
replace the sticky sheets when they
become covered with flies.
Richard L. Pugh, a Highland,
Md., dairy and grain farmer, cre
dits the cylindrical traps with
reducing fly-borne pinkeye dis
ease among his heifers last year,
and he has high hopes for the pyra
mids, which he has placed near his
bams.
“Flies have always been a major
nuisance for the farmer,” he says.
“In some cases they make life so
miserable for cows that milk pro
duction is affected.”
The demand for an efficient fly
trap extends far beyone farms and
suburbs, says Normand F. Reed of
Hopedale, Mass., owner of the
only company that makes the
cylindrical traps.
The devices have been pur
chased by owners of restaurants,
nursing homes, landfills, and ice
cream parlors. “The best location
for many traps is right by a dump
ster,” says Reed. “It’s an incredible
fly-breeding ground.”
TOUCH— adoi able baby farm animals 01 maybe
squeeze a tomato or tuo at the Farm Ftesh Maiket
Stand wheie homegioun pioduee tan be ptnchased.
The Fan is a shoppei’s patadtse unit a link ama/tng
anav ot meichandise
USTEN —to the craftspeople in the Ciatts and I lemon -
stiation Theatei as the\ describe and demons ti ate
then skills -01 hov\ about the sounds and atti actions
of the Midways that tantah/e both voting and old
For Grandstand Entertainment
September 9—8:00 pm—GLORIA
ESTEFAN and the MIAMI SOUND
MACHINE
September 10-8:00 pm-WILLIE NELSON
September 11 —6:00 pm—3OTH
ANNIVERSARY OF ROCK *N ROLL
September 12-8:00 pm-RANDY TRAVIS
September 13—8:00 pm— RESTLESS
HEART
September 14-6:30 pm-THE BEST OF
THE BANDS
September 15—8KX) pm—ALABAMA
September 16-8:00 pm-JOHN KAY &
STEPPENWQLF
September 17-8.-00 pro—TIFFANY
For The 1988