Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-10-15
KILL THE FLIES SAYS
THE STATE BOARD
Screen Your Houses, and Cover Up
Filthy Places Where the Flies
Breed and Feed.

OF what a horribly dangerous and
filthy thing the fly is, declares the
Georgia State Board Of Health.
Despite its tiny size, the common
fly is a monster infinitely more deadly
than any of the extinct beasts of pre-
historic times The house-hy is deaths
advance agent There are about II
varieties of flies known in Georgia,
but they are all alike in the respect
that they carry disease.
The most common fly OF all is
the ordinary house-hy, called the
musca domestica by scientists - and
by various other names by the bald
headed man. This fly, familiar to eve
rybody, comprises about SO per cent.
OF the flies found in garbage cans,
dining rooms, stables, kitchens and
so on The remaining two per cent.
of flies in Georgia is principally made
up of the blue-bottfe fly, sometimes
called the blow fly or meat fly. But
they are all disease breeders alike.
The fly has the most filthy habits Of
any living creature. He doesn't care
where he gets his meals or what he
eats He had just as soon eat the
bread and vegetables and meat on
your plate and he had equally. as soon
! have some nauseating and unspeaka-
| BILE kind of filth-which is just where
| the trouble lies If the fly would stick
| TO either kind of diet, he would not
be so dangerous. But the trouble is
! ary ~ Of ic
! some abominable refuse and a minute
afterwards, unless you keep him from
it, will fly in through your window and
make his dessert on your jam or rice
pudding, or on the baby's milk bottle.
He will wipe his dirty feet on it and
leave the disease germs he brought
from filth.
You can see a rattlesnake or lion,
but unfortunately you can't see the
deadly germs that the fly has smeareo
on your food. You will go ahead ane
eat it, germs, filth and all, and by sc
doing you take your life in your hands.
| The health germs in your body may
kill the disease germs and they may
not If they don't, Illness or death is
your portion.
Not Theories, But Facts.
In the hot summer, when flies are
most plentiful, the average persons
constitution is more or less run down
and offers less resistance to disease
germs. If the public could just be
made to realize that these are not
theories and mere words, says the
State Board of Health, but that they
are actual facts, and that one fly light
ing on your food is a deadly abomina-
ton, such a sentiment would be arous-
ed as to eventually exterminate the
fly and to save untold mysery and ILL
ness and death in human beings.
For hen to lay two hundred eggs
during the course of three hundred
and sixty-five days is considered pref
ty good, but for a fly to lay one hun
| dred egsg during the course Of one
| day is nothing unusual. In fact, it is
stated by the United States govern
ment expert that fly lays on the aver
age of one hundred and twenty eggs
at time, and that each fems.e fly
lays four such patches. This expert
also states that these eggs hatch out
into magots and Hecome full grown
flies in ten days AID begin to lay eggs
themselves and raise up families.
Flies won't sit on their eggs to
hatch Them they are too busy carry
ing disease around to waste time that
way And, besides, in times past they
have always found that human beings
were willing to look after these lit
tie details for them by leaving horse
manure around, by letting garbage
cans stay open, and by leaving other
filth and refuse uncovered. So all
the time the fly loses is in laying the
eggs in such places. The heat of the
sun, or the heat generated in the man
ure pile, will do the rest.
In times to come, however, and that
not very far off, the Board predicts
that the fly is going to find that hui
man beings have gotten wise to his
murderous ways and have all screened
their houses against him and have
built sanitary privies and have screen.
ed the manure piles and learned to
keep garbage cans, slop barrels and
other refuse containers covered or
screened.
Methods of killing Him.
In the meantime, the State Board of
Health earnestly calls on the indi.
vidual people of Georgia and on the
health officials of towns and cities to
do their share OF this important work
Every time a fly lights ca your food
remember where he may have come
from.
The State Board of Heath gives the
following three suggestions as prac-
teal and serviceable in killing flies:
Fly Poison.-Dissolve one drachm of
bichromate of potash in two ounces of
water; add sugar or honey Place in
a saucer where children cannot get to
it, as it is slightly poisonous. The
flies drink it and quickly die.
Another effective fly poison is made
by placing a teaspoonful of formalin
in saucer Of water to which milk
or sugar or honey has been added.