Flytraps and Their Operation [1930]

Part 1

Transcriber Note

Text emphasis denoted as Italics and =Bold=. Whole and fractional parts of numbers as 123-4/5.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 734

FLYTRAPS AND THEIR OPERATION

BOTH THE HOUSE FLY AND BLOWFLIES may be captured in traps. The character of the bait used and the location of the traps greatly influence the kind of flies caught. This bulletin tells how to make the flytraps that have been found most effective, where to put them, and how to bait and care for them.

Flytrapping, of course, affords only partial relief. The logical method of fly control is to prevent the multiplication of these pests by proper disposal of or treatment of their breeding places. The reader is therefore referred to Farmers' Bulletin 1408 for further information on house-fly control, to Farmers' Bulletin 1097 for various methods of combating the stable fly, and to Farmers' Bulletin 857 for additional measures to be used against the screw-worm fly and certain other blowflies injurious to livestock.

Issued June 10, 1916 Washington, D. C. Revised March, 1930

ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 5 CENTS PER COPY

=FLYTRAPS AND THEIR OPERATION=

By F. C. Bishopp, Principal Entomologist in Charge, Division of Insects Affecting Man and Animals, Bureau of Entomology

=CONTENTS=

Page

Uses and limitations of flytraps 1

Kinds of flies caught 1

Types of traps 2

Trapping the screw-worm fly 11

Baits for traps 11

Bait containers 13

Care and location of traps 14

Sticky fly papers 14

=USES AND LIMITATIONS OF FLYTRAPS=

FLYTRAPS have a distinct place in the control of the house fly and other noxious fly species. There is a general tendency, however, for those engaged in combating flies to put too much dependence on the flytrap as a method of abating the nuisance. It should be borne in mind that flytrapping is only supplementary to other methods of control, most notable of which is the prevention of breeding either by completely disposing of breeding places or by treating the breeding material with chemicals.

It may be said that there are two main ways in which flytraps are valuable: (1) By catching flies which come to clean premises from other places which are insanitary and (2) by capturing those flies which invariably escape in greater or less numbers the other means of destruction which may be practiced. Furthermore, the number of flies caught in traps serves as an index of the effectiveness of campaigns against breeding places.

Flytrapping should begin early in the spring if it is to be of greatest value. Although comparatively few flies are caught in the early spring, their destruction means the prevention of the development of myriads of flies by midsummer.

=KINDS OF FLIES CAUGHT=

The various species of flies which are commonly annoying about habitations or where foodstuffs are being prepared may be divided roughly into two classes: (1) Those which breed in animal matter, consisting mainly of the so called blowflies, including the screw-worm fly; and (2) those which breed in vegetable as well as in animal matter. In the latter group the house fly is by far the most important. The stable fly is strictly a vegetable breeder, as are also certain other species which occasionally come into houses and in rare cases may contaminate foodstuffs. The stable fly, which breeds in horse manure or decaying vegetable matter, and the horn fly, which breeds in cow manure, are blood-sucking species, and can be caught in ordinary flytraps in comparatively small numbers only. The kind of flies caught depends to a considerable extent on the material used for bait. In general, the house fly and other species which breed in vegetable matter are attracted to vegetable substances, while the blowflies will come most readily to animal matter. This rule, of course, is not absolute, as flies are less restricted in feeding than in breeding habits, and, as is well known, the house fly is attracted to a greater or less extent to any moist material, especially if it has an odor.

Cochliomyia macellaria Fab.

Musca domestica L.

Part 2

Stomoxys calcitrans L.

Haematobia irritans L.

=TYPES OF TRAPS=

The same general principle is involved in nearly all flytraps in use, though superficially they may appear quite different. The flies are attracted into a cage, as it were, by going through a passage the entrance of which is large and the exit small, so that there is little chance of the flies, once in, finding their way out again. This principle is modified to fit different conditions. For instance, the window trap, devised by C. F. Hodge, catches the flies as they endeavor to enter or leave a building; the garbage-can trap, for which Professor Hodge is also to be credited, catches the flies that have entered garbage cans; and the manure-box trap retains the flies bred from infested manure put into the box or pit.

The attractant used to induce flies to enter traps may consist of (1) food, as in baited traps; (2) odors, as in window traps placed in windows from which odors are emitted; and (3) light, as in traps on manure boxes. Of course, light is an important factor in the success of all traps, for, as is well known, flies have a marked tendency to go toward the light, and they usually enter the trap by flying toward the light after having been attracted beneath it by bait or after entering a room in search of food.

=CONICAL TRAPS=

A number of traps of this general type are on the market, but most of these are of small size. Nearly all are constructed with a dome instead of a cone, and on this account the catching power is reduced about one-third. Moreover, the farmer, dairyman, or anyone with a few tools can construct traps at a small fraction of the sale price of ready-made ones.

There are now being made by certain firms in the Southwest traps of the dimensions and with the desirable features discussed in the following pages. These traps are all metal and some are built so that they can be taken apart for shipment.

=THE CONICAL HOOP TRAP=

A trap which appears from extensive tests made by E. W. Laake and the writer to be best for effective trapping, durability, ease of construction and repair, and cheapness may be made as follows:

The trap consists essentially of a screen cylinder with a frame made of barrel hoops, in the bottom of which is inserted a screen cone. The height or the cylinder is 24 inches, the diameter 18 inches, and the cone is 22 inches high, and 18 inches in diameter at the base. Material necessary for this trap consists of four new or secondhand wooden barrel hoops, one barrel head, four laths, 10 feet of strips 1 to inches wide 1½ one-half inch thick (portions of old boxes will suffice), 61 linear inches of 12 or 14 mesh galvanized screening 24 inches wide for the sides of the trap and 41 inches of screening 26 inches wide for the cone and door, an ounce of carpet tacks, and two turn-buttons, which may be made of wood. The total cost of the material for this trap, if all is bought new at retail prices is about $1. In practically all cases, however, the barrel hoops, barrel head, lath, and strips can be obtained without expense. This would reduce the cost to that of the wire and tacks, which would be about 80 cents. If a larger number of traps are constructed at one time, the cost is considerably reduced.

One of these traps is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. In constructing the trap two of the hoops are bent in a circle (18 inches in diameter on the inside), and nailed together, the ends being trimmed to give a close fit. These form the bottom of the frame (A), and the other two, prepared in a similar way, the top (B). The top (C) of the trap is made of an ordinary barrel head with the bevel edge sawed off sufficiently to cause the head to fit closely in the hoops and allow secure nailing. A square, 10 inches on the side, is cut out of the center of the top to form a door. The portions of the top (barrel head) are held together by inch strips (D) placed around the opening one-half inch from the edge to form a jamb for the door. The door consists of a narrow frame (E) covered with screen (F) well fitted to the trap and held in place (not hinged) by buttons (G). The top is then nailed in the upper hoops and the sides (H) formed by closely tacking screen wire on the outside of the hoops. Four laths (I) (or light strips) are nailed to the hoops on the outside of the trap to act as supports between the hoops, and the ends are allowed to project 1 inch at the bottom to form legs (J). The legs are made to project inches when the traps are to be used with bait pans 4 inches deep in trapping screw-worm flies. The cone (K) is cut from the screen and either sewed with fine wire or soldered where the edges meet at (L), or a narrow lath may be nailed along these edges. The apex of the cone is then cut off to give an aperture (M) 1 inch in diameter. It is then inserted in the trap and closely tacked to the hoop around the base.

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