54
-UncMter Farming, Saturday, April 30,1994
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Penn State
Poultry |
Pointers r
SOUND MANAGEMENT
FOR HOUSE
FLY CONTROL
Dr. Charles Pitts
Professor, Dept of
Entomology
The fly season is here and we
must establish sound fly manage
ment programs.
Each poultry producer should be
aware of the importance of con
trolling house flies in their facili
ties in order to have good sanita
tion in the egg houses and to be a
good neighbor to his non-poultry
producing neighbors. This rela
tionship to the community is very
important to the poultry industry
and must be taken seriously.
The spring thaw has finally come and we
can get on with our farm chores. One of the
big jobs that faces us is removing and spread
ing manure. Even though we have just com
pleted a very hard winter, house fly maggots
have been successful in surviving the winter.
As you haul and spread the manure,
remember to spread the manure as thinly and
evenly as possible and to deep plow as soon as
possible after the spreading. This part of your
fly control program is as important as any
other pan. This practice will certainly go a
long way in establishing good neighbor
relations.
The first thing the producer should do is to
have some method of sampling the fly popu
lation so they will know if the fly population is
increasing, decreasing, or holding steady.
This will allow the producer to evaluate the
efficacy of their fly control program.
Methods of monitoring populations of
adult flies include fly grids, resting counts,
sticky fly paper, baited jug-traps, and spot
cards. The most useful in animal facilities are
resting counts, sticky fly paper, baited jug
traps, and spot cards.
Resting counts are done by using predesig
nated areas such as walls, beams, or ceilings
and fly counts are made in these areas each
day. Several locations arc used in each house.
By doing these counts over time, you can
monitor trends in the fly population.
Sticky fly papers are available commercial
ly. The flies caught on the sticky paper gives a
useful index of fly population. Also the flies
caught on the paper can be positively identi
fied. Several of these sticky papers should be
placed in each house being eva
luated. The fly papers should be
left in place for two days and then
removed and counts made. The
number of papers used should be
constant and put back in the same
place each time. These papers
work well but are messy to handle.
Baited jug-traps are a simple,
practical fly monitoring device and
can be left in place for up to one
week to give a continuous sam
pling of flies. The same trap can be
used for the purpose of fly control.
The bailed jug-trap consists of a
one gallon plastic milk jug with
four holes (three inches in diame
ter) cut around the circumference
in the upper third of the jug. About
one tablespoon of bait containing
muscalure is placed in the bottom.
Flies enter, feed on the bait, and die
in the jug. The number and species
of flies can be determined easily.
After one week, the bait has
reduced effectiveness so the flies
and old bait should be dumped and
fresh bait added.
At least six jug-traps should be
used per deep pit house. The traps
should be put in locations where
flies congregate and the traps
should be put in the same place
each time counts are made. In
poultry houses, 350 flies per week
has been used as the threshold for
chemical treatment. However,
lower threshold may be desired
when neighbors are close.
Spot cards are simple devices
for measuring fly activity. These
are 3 x 5 index cards which are
fastened flush to prechosen loca
tions in the facility. Flies resting on
the spot cards leave light straw
colored regurgitation spots and
dark fecal spots. The number of
spots per card is easily counted
after an exposure of three to seven
days. The placement of cards is
important and they must be placed
where flies are observed to rest or
fly specks are present. At least 10
cards should be used per facility
and an index of 50 spots per card
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has been used as a threshold for
chemical treatment
These simple methods for moni
toring fly populations will aid the
producer in evaluating the total fly
management program. Remember
that good fly management starts
Educators Take Part
ALFRED, N.Y. Dr. Richard
A. Hoffman, professor in the
Agriculture and Horticulture De
partment at Alfred State College,
was among some 30 educators
taking part in an Agricultural Bio
technology Standards trainer
workshop in Chicago April 8-10.
Arranged by the National FFA
Foundation, the project was a col
laborative effort by education, in
dustry, and labor.
The purpose, Hoffman said,
was “to identify skills needed by a
technician (with less than a bacca
laureate degree) employed in an
agricultural business, using the
tools of biotechnology.”
The goal of the workshop was
to prepare participants to deliver
teachers’ in-service programs in
their respective states, according
Always read and follow label dmcctioas carefully
In Workshop
with good manure management,
which includes good ventilation
and no leaky watering cups.
If you would like to discuss this
information further, or if you are
having problems with fly popula
tions, please call me at (814)
863-7789.
to Jeff Moss, project director for
the Illinois-based foundation.
Workshop participants shared
information on what is happening
nationwide with biotechnology
and agricultural education, Hoff
man said.
The Alfred State professor, a
noted authority in the field of bio
technology, described related
courses offered at his campus and
instrumental materials used by
ASC faculty.
Presentations included a des
cription of a model educational
program for preparing biotechni
cians, staged by Dr. Joy McMil
lan. director of the Biotechnology
Laboratory Technician Program at
Madison (Wis.) Area Technical
College.
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