Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-07-18
THE FLY MENACE
To PUBLIC HEALTH
Traps That Can Be Built Cheap
ly to Destroy the
Insects.
VIII.

-
enough to prevent all flies from breed
ing, by screening pits. ETC.,
there will be no need of house-screens
traps or poisons for flies. Meanwhile.
the Evening STAR gives a few hints
for ~lessening the present nuisance
and danger-of hy-swarming.
Screening is an obvious necessity.
Few know. however. that when houses
have large open fireplaces, many flies
come Town the chimney, and thai it is
useful to arrange a screen before the
fireplace.
Besides the ordinary very useful fiat
hy-paper, vertical strips are excellent
traps. Flies like to- rest on the hang
Ing cards of curtains, on chandeliers,
and other vertical objects; and strips
Of sticky fy-paper, suspended from the
ceiling, will catch quantities. DR.. L. o.
Toward says "a friend In experiment
Ing with n of these devices, examined
the room. carefully and noted eleven
flies. After the apparatus was hung he
found rather to his surprise that he
had caught thirteen flies! He became
rather enthusiastic over the merits of
the device. These sticky fy-papers are
not poisoned. and depend for their eff
f1cacy upon the catching of the flies"
OF the unpatented fly-traps, a device
was recommended by Mr.. P. J. Parrot.
entomolog1st of the Kansas Experiment
Station. In Bulletin so of the station
October, 1900. as follows, in abridge-
ment:
Anybody with an average amount
of mechanical ingenuity can make and
attach the trap, with a cost of but a
few cents.
Homemade Traps.
Take a fiat strip of tin two and one
fourth inches wide and one and one
half inches longer than the distance
between the side rail or stile and
middle rail lof the sash. With the tin
lying fiat, bend 1t to form the bottom
and lateral sides of a box, cutting small
missions in the tin to make the flap
ends, which are bent along the Sides
as In making a box of paper. In. size,
the side of the box should measure the
same as the pane, SO that it may AT
in at the bottom of the pane.
T make the box water-tight. solder
the joints, or try moistened plaster Of
paris. The box should fit snugly be-
tween the middle and side rail or stile.
The box should rest on top of the bot
tom rail, and can be held in place by
two or three tacks.
After the traps have been attached
some substance should be put into
them that will either kill the insect or
hold it. For the first. kerosene, kero-
sene emulsion, soapsuds and pyrethrum
are the best; and for the second, mo-
lasses, or a migture of castor oil and
resin. For general use, the soapsuds
are to be recommended. When using
,the liquids. fill the traps two-thirds
full.
DIR. Howard says, regarding unusual
traps:
- some Unusual Methods.
Many different kinds of fly-traps are
used in different parts Of the world.
In Western Australia 1t Is declared
that flies may be effectually destroyed
by putting a half spoonful of black
pepper in powder on a teaspoonful of
brown sugar and n ~teaspoonful of
cream. Mix all together and place in a
room where 1ies are troublesome and
it is said they will soon disappear.
Or. Paul Freer, of Manila tells the
writer that in the Japanese hospitals
they take a whole potato n stick 1t
full OF toothpicks, put fly paste on the
toothpicks, and hang the potatoes from
the ceiling over the patients bed on
a cord. The f1es all gather on the po-
tato. When it Is full they throw the
potato away and make a new trap"
A Hopper cent. solution of ordinary
formaldehyde TASK your ~druggist) in a
shallow dish of water sweetened with
sugar will attract and kill many flies.
DR.. Hodge, speaking of this method,
this year. advised using a ~teaspoonful
of formalin to a teacup of water.
Where 1t is used there should be no
other liquids in the room for flies to
drink. It is especially effective early
in the morning, when the flies first take
wing,
P~yrsthrum.
The fy-fghting committee of the
American Civic Association has recon-
mended the burning of pyrethrum pow
der. and the dropping of twenty drops
OF carbolic acid upon a hot shovel, stat
ing lat the vapor kills the flies. A
few persons have complained that
neither of these was effective. But this
is largely because of a lack of purity in
the drugs. One must, with pyrethrum
powder, for example, be sure to getsthe
pure powder. The best is made from
fresh, California p~yrethrum. flower
heads. to be purchased at really good
druggists. :
For this summer, perhaps for sew
eral summers to come, we shall have to
trap and poison the fly. But how long
shall we keep up this Unnecessary NUS
ance Prevent the flies from breeding,