The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1908-04-17
THE HOUSE Fly DANGER

Now that spring is here in earnest,
it is as well to turn to the fly for lit
tie discussion, as it is a factor that
plays a prominent part in the dissem-
ination of disease.
There are seven different varieties
OF flies found in our houses, IS per
cent. of which is the common house
fly (musca domestica).
This is medium-sized, grayish fly,
with its mouth parts spread out at the
tip for sucking up liquid substances.
1t breeds in manure, or in decompos-
ing matter Of any kind, vegetable as
well as animal. Hence, you can cas-
lily see the necessity of keeping the
premises clear of all such breeding
material in order to prevent the pro-
ductiOn of these germ and disease car
riers, and the consequent evils there
from.
They subsist on any vile or filthy
matter and then, leaving this, enter
our house to alight on the food in the
dining room, kitchen or pantry, Ieav-
ing trail of bacteria behind.
Now let us see what methods have
been successfully employed to pre-
vent the breeding of flies. Where
there is neither a barn nor a stable to
complicate the situation, the task is
not difficult one. 1t simply consists
in keeping yard and house in a clean,
sanitary condition. leaving nothing
arOud where eggs can be deposited.
On the other hand, where there is
a stable or barn to be reckOned with,
the question is of more moment. A
single stable where a horse is kept
will supply house flies for an extend
ed community.
DR.. L. o. Howard, chief of the bu-
reau Of entomology, United States de-
partment of agriculture, after various
experiments, found the following to
be the most successful method of pro-
cedure:
A special receptacle should be pre-
pared for the manure, by building
closet or box 6xS feet in the corner of
the stable nearest the manure pile. 1t
should have a door opening into the
stable proper and also a window. A
door should be built in the outside
wall of this closet and all manure col
lected each morning should be thrown
into this closet, the window of which
should be screened.
After the manure is put into this
closet each morning a small shOvelful
of chloride of lime should be scatter
ed over it. At the expiration of ten
days or two weeks, the outside door
can be opened and the manure remov-
ed and distributed to the garden or
grounds. This measure has been
found to be eminently successful.
Screen Doors and Windows Against
Flies
There is only one method of pre-
venting flies entering the house, and
that is to have all the doors and win
dOws securely screened. A wire
screen, 16 mesh to the inch is more
satisfactory than one of IA mesh to
the inch, as mosquitoes can get
through the latter, and while the
house is being screened it is we'll to
be protected against the mosquito, the
malaria and yellow fever carrier, as
against the fly, the carrier of typhoid
fever and cholera. Too much stress
cannot be put upon this thorough
screening of houses as a protective
measure against this very filthy in
sect. Examinations have been made
of flies at various times, and they
have been found to be teeming with
bacteria and numerous animal and
vegetable parasites.
Now, is it worth while to have the
houses screened, or to attempt to pre-
vent the breeding of fies?-Florida
Health Notes.