FLY DESTRUCTION

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21317, 1 February 1944, Page 2

FLY DESTRUCTION

USE OF EVERY MEANS

SWAT, TRAP AND POISON

MEDICAL MAN'S ADVICE

“Yon must pursue the fly by every means," advised Dr. T. C. Lonic, medical officer of health for the East Cape health district. “Swat him wnen you can, catch him on fly papers and in traps, poison him and do not give him food and drink by leaving these about and accessible ir. your home unprotected from contamination." Dr. Lonie says. This advice is given 'n a second contribution on the fly menace. Last •week Dr. Lonie urged the cleaning up of everybody’s back-yard of any rubbish or dead matter that would attract the breeding fly. and stressed the point that the flies cams straight from the filth to the table. If there were no filth there would be no flies. However, as most methods of clearing up the breeding places are likely to be imperfect. Dr. Lonie gives advice on dealing with the adult fly, and there are many methods of coping with it.

‘•Everyone has his own fad in dealing with the adult fiv." Dr. Lonie writes, "and everybody expects far too much of any particular method. The truth is that every method is good up to a point, and you should try them all if need be. The Old-fashioned Swatter

“First, there is the old-fashioned fly swatter. They are excellent, and it is a good thing to have several of them —one in every room if you can. Probably the most effective is the wire gauze one, but unfortunately the binding round the edge gives way very quickly in most cases, and the rough wire edge is then apt to scratch furniture or paintwork. But those made of leather or rubber at the end of a stick are not objectionable in this way, and are more durable if you can get them or make them. “But unfortunately the fly swatter is like the bayonet—-effective if you get your enemy. But the machinegun hits at a distance, and there is less chance of escape if you use the right sort of ammunition. That is like the fly spray. The basis of many of the solutions for use in sprays—the ammunition—is largely kerosene, but. this of itself is not enough, for it appears merely to stupefy the flies for a period. To kerosene in many proprietary sprays is added in normal times . various substances such as pyrethrum. Unfortunately, scarcity of these substances has rendered many of the sprays ineffective. If you can find a really effective brand, stick to it, and let your neighbours know. Certainly the home-made kind do not seem to be of much use; probably because they are wartime makeshifts. “And then there are fly poisons. These consist usually of a bait of food suitably sweetened and with some poison such as arsenic or formalin added. Arsenic is the most effective, but is dangerous, especially when there are children or animals about. Here is a formalin mixture yoii can try: “Mix up sugar, 2oz. in a pint of water, add 2oz. of 40 per cent formalin and Coz. of milk. Put some in a saucer with a bit of bread floating in it. "Mostly the failures with fly poisons are due to the fact that there is so much attractive food left lying about that flies prefer this to the poisoned bait. Make Your Own Fly Papers “Fly papers and fly wires are coated with a sticky preparation of resin and oil, such as crude castor oil. These are very effective, but like many other things, scarce. However, if you caryiot buy fly papers you might try to make your own by-heating 2oz. of crude castor oil and 4ioz. of resin, heating up in a tin stood in boiling water as you would heat glue. You can then coat papers or bits of wire with this and hang them from the roof. You should have some arrangement (a tin lid for the wire, for instance) at the end of the paper or wire to catch any drips. You will probably have to experiment' to get your material of the proper stickiness. It tends to dry in the air, so don't hang papers or wires in a draught. Used papers can, of course, be burnt, but wires may be either burnt clean, or the dead flies wiped off before recoating the wire. But, I Warn you, this is a messy, sticky business, and if you can buy your fly papers ready made, I should advise you to do so. “Screening of doors and windows will help to'keep flies out. “Fly traps are of many varieties. The Japanese produced a very ingenious clockwork one which was very effective, but we aren’t likely to see these for a long time. However, a simple one can be made with a wide-mouthed jar whose mouth is filled by a paper funnel pierced with a sin. hole at the apex. At the bottom of the jar is placed some bait attractive to flies, such as mashed banana, jam or honey on pieces of bread, or milk pudding. Hot soapy water poured through the funnel when you have caught sufficient flies will kill or drown these without difficulty. A simple variant of this trap is to put soapy water in your jar first and then to cover the mouth with a piece of bread, the underside of which is smeared with honey or jam. In the centre is a small hole about lin. square. The fly, having crawled through to find the honey cannot get back again, and in due course drops in the water at the bottom of the jar. Do Not Leave Food About

“There is one most important point about all these methods of attracting flies, and that is that nearly all depend upon attracting the fly to a bait, whether it be something to feed on, like honey, or an apparently attractive resting place like a fly paper or a fly wire. The electric light flex hanging from the ceiling competes with the fly wire or paper, and not much can be done about that. With regard to food, however, it is not to be expected that you will catch many flies with your various baits and traps, it' there are innumerable other bits of food, drops of milk or grains of spilt sugar lying around. You would not, of course, leave the sugar bowl, or the milk, or the cake dish about. After all, a fly is not very big, and a single grain ol sugar would make quite a meal for him, and when a group <?i half a dozen flies gather round one drop of milk, or even a hardly discernible spot on the table cloth, there will no doubt be quite sufficient food or drink there to satisfy all of them."