Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1917-05-04
Beuare the
DeadlyFN
Pest Causes More Death Than
Do Murderers, Storms
and Poisons
DIRT HOME OF INSECT

If the house fly ever stops long
enough in its busy career for self-pity,
it must surely feel itself a victim of
the oft-quoted fickleness of public
opinion.
Until about a decade ago what little
protest was heard against the fly came
In the main from those of our fathers,
husbands and brothers who possessed
that attractive fly bait, bald head.
Otherwise it was SO familiar a pest
In every household that its presence
attracted little or no attention. We
used screens and sticky or liquid fly
paper to keep down the population and
save ourselves the irritation Of the in
cessant buZz-buzz of a hot day, but
that the fly represented any real men
ace to the household health was not
imagined. Baby Bunting received hom--
lilies on the fy's persevering qualities,
its marvellous wall-climbing prowess
and its general meekness of nature
Then suddenly the scientific men be-
gan to find out things about the rela-
tionship Of the insect world to certain
prevalent diseases, Louise Fuller
writes In the Pictorial Review. The
mosquito became more than disagree
able pest: 1t appeared as the transmit
ter of malarial germs. The tsetse fly
and sleeping sickness, particularly
deadly and incurable plague, were
found to be intimately associated in
os.- Iol ~ !. a.,
Of mildly annoying but harmless do
nestle animal, was uncloaked as
very enemy within our gates, purvey-
ing germs of filth and disease.
1t used to be popular custom 70
discover a use for every living crea-
ture, and the sanitarians tell US that
the ay's principal value is as a danger
signal, indicating the presence of dirt
in some form. Wherever you find flies
there is cleanup work to be done, and
the community which disregards the
warning will not be among those boast
ing of low death rate.
Flies cannot live except in dirt; it is
their natural habitat. A really we'll
brought-up fly as naturally prefers I'M
clean odors as fastidious people prefer
sweet ones. They are bred in garbage,
manure or similar refuse; they derive
their daily sustenance from it; and in
due course they deposit their eggs in
1t, thus completing the cycle. When,
then, Misunderstanding fly drops into
your milk or cream pitcher, scrambles
about a little and slowly crawls out
again, he has brought minute por-
ton of the manure heap to your break
fast table-minute, but not so minute
as the millions of germs which dwell
In this same manure, and which are
with 1t.
Every summer, by just such means,
the house fly kills more people in the
United States of America than murder, |
cyclones, mad dogs and poison |
ous reptiles, all combined. Not by di- |
rect methods, of course-the fly does |
not work that way-but by spreading |
the germs of typhoid and various |
,ther intestinal diseases. The baby is
The fiy's most helpless victim. AS he |
les sleeping in his crib, the fly crawls |
over his head and hands, his nursing |
bottle or teething ring, leaving germs
n its wake to be absorbed into the
.hild's system, not yet strong enough
o throw off and counterfeit the disease.
If there are flies in your house or
Tour neighbours, you are counting dan
ger for yourself and your household.
# the grocer, butcher, baker and
radesman from whom you buy your
oodstuffs has flies in his shop, either
withdraw your custom and deal in a
hop where the food is protected under
,lass and sanitary conditions make it
N unattractive gathering place for
lies, OF else force him to clean up.