The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-06-13
Go at the Root of the
Trouble and Prevent
Breeding
HOW TO POISON THE PESTS

House Flies Do Not Usually Fly Over
a Few Hundred Yards From Their
Breeding Places, and it is There
fore Not Impossible to Do Away
With Them.
The people of West Raleigh held a
meeting last week to organize a Fight
the-F1ies Club. They have studied
the danger to health in these pests
and had the privilege of hearing an
address by DR.. r. L. Smith, EntomO~
logist Of the North Carolina State
Experiment Station, who has given
study and practical tests to the sub
ject of the breeding of flies and also
to the best way to poison flies. His
address has borne fruit. In one place
III West Raleigh, by the use Of for
maldehyde as suggested by DR.. Smith
one and a half quarts of dead flies
were picked up in a place where the
flies were particularly bad.
Director G. B. Williams requested
DR.. Smith to give a brief statement
for the News and Observer, Of how
flies breed, how their breeding can
be stopped and how people can end
the fly evil by poisoning them. He
has done so and his article is as fol-
lows:
Facts Concerning the House Fly.
To the Editor: There are several
species of flies which are commonly
found in houses, but over ninety-five
per cent are the true house flies, which
are not capable Of biting. Another
fly which is hard to distinguish from
the house-fy and often found in
houses is capable of biting like the
horse flies. This one is known by the
name. stable fly. There are also
several greenish or blush flies occa-
.sionally found In houses, and it is
with all of these that We have t.
deal in attempting to mitigate the
fly nuisance.
Teh life history of the common
house-fly which does not differ ma
terially from that Of other flies is
essentially as follows:
The eggs are laid on both horse and
COW manure, from which fully ninety
five per cent of all flies have been
proved to originate. Eggs are also
placed on all kinds Of refuse such as
garbage piles, decaying food stuffs,
meats or any filth. The eggs hatch
in from one to twenty-four our into
small, active white maggotS.
The maggot stage lasts only five
days in warm weather. When
grown the maggots are about one
third inch long, pointed at the head
and quite blunt at the other end.
The maggot changes to a reddish
brown pupa stage from which tn.
adult fly eventually energies.
The pupa stage lasts five days in
hot weather. Thus, it is seen that
the complete life cycle from egg to
adult may be completed in ten or
eleven days.
The generations during the sumner
may number fifteen or more.
Each house-fiy lays about one hun
dred and twenty eggs and the prog,
eny from one individual at the end of
the fifth generation would, therefore,
number over ten million, counting
only one hundred eggs as an average.
There is only one real good method
of lessenIng the number of house-hies,
and that is to do away with the
breeding places Or preven flies from
breeding as they would without him
drance. Many things have been
tried to kill house-fly maggots in ma
nure. Chloride Of lime is fairly sue
cessful when used in large quantities.,
but it is impracticable to follow this
method under ordinary conditions.
The best thing, therefore, is to have
the stable manure hauled out and
spread in the field at least once a
week. In this way the maggots are
killed and practically none have time
to mature and those that mature i'll
the field do not often return to the
houses.
House-fies do not usually fly over a
few hundred yards from their breed
ing places, SO that it seems practical
BILE, by united effort On the part OIL
those interested. to do away with
most of the house-fieS in any com
munity.
There are several successful fly
poisons that can be bought in any