2014 EVALUATION OF HOUSE FLY DEMONSTRATION. COOPERATORS: James Colby Moreland and Jody & Robin Thomas

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1 2014 EVALUATION OF HOUSE FLY DEMONSTRATION COOPERATORS: James Colby Moreland and Jody & Robin Thomas Pasquale Swaner, Texas A&M AgriLIFE Extension Agent - Agriculture Summary House flies pose a serious pest for barn/stable operators and dairy operators throughout the United States. When the population rises well above a manageable rate they begin to travel to nearby houses and businesses. House flies do not bite but are extremely annoying and are not appreciated by the general public. Although most livestock can tolerate several hundred house flies at one time, people become discouraged at the site of one house fly. In addition to their nuisance status, house flies have the ability to mechanically transmit over 200 known pathogens that cause disease to humans and animals. Therefore it is important for barn/stable operators and dairy operators to keep their house fly numbers suppressed. Objective Record house fly numbers during the 2014 fly season in Districts 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 10 in Texas with scatter bait stations containing different types of baits (QuickBayt, QuikStrike, and Golden Malrin) and pheromone trap. Compare the products and number of dead house flies in order to determine which scatter bait is the most effective at attracting and killing house flies.. Materials and Methods The trial was set up from May until October 31. Two locations (livestock barns) were chosen and traps were set up. Collections were made on a monthly (every 4 weeks) basis from the locations. Bait stations were placed or hung 4 ft. above the ground out of animal reach.

2 The Captivator trap was hung at least 4 ft. above the ground out of animal reach at one location. The sites compared different products (2/site). Bait stations were constructed from gallon jugs (i.e. milk jugs) and filled with either 1 oz. of Golden Malrin, 1 oz. of QuikStrike or 1 oz. of Quick Bayt. Captivator traps were filled with the instructed amount of water and treated with a pheromone attractant. At each visit, the old bait was removed. New bait was placed in the bait station at that time or new water and pheromone was placed into the Captivator trap at each visit. The collected bait and dead house flies were then removed from the barn and fly numbers were recorded. In addition to the traps, spot cards were placed by each trap to evaluate the number of house flies resting in the vicinity. Results and Discussion Data & Results Location 1 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Date 23-May 20-Jun 18-Jul 15-Aug 12-Sep 10-Oct 31-Oct Golden Malrin Spot Card QuikStrike Spot Card Location 2 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Date 23-May 20-Jun 18-Jul 15-Aug 12-Sep 10-Oct 31-Oct Quick Bayt Spot Card Captivator Spot Card Trade names of commercial products used in this report is included only for better understanding and clarity. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M University System is implied. Readers should realize that results from one experiment do not represent conclusive evidence that the same response would occur where conditions vary.

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4 Total Number of Dead House Flies per Fly Baits ,329 14,715 13,584 22,562 Golden Malrin QuikStrike Quick Bayt Pheromone Traps Trade names of commercial products used in this report is included only for better understanding and clarity. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M University System is implied. Readers should realize that results from one experiment do not represent conclusive evidence that the same response would occur where conditions vary.

5 Total number of collected house flies per bait / Location Number of house flies Month Golden Malrin Spot Card QuikStrike Spot Card Total number of collected house flies per bait / Location Number of house flies Month Quick Bayt Spot Card Captivator Spot Card

6 Total Number of Collected House Flies per Month Number of house flies Month Total number of house flies collected per bait in Coryell Co Golden Malrin QuikStrike Quick Bayt Captivator Trade names of commercial products used in this report is included only for better understanding and clarity. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M University System is implied. Readers should realize that results from one experiment do not represent conclusive evidence that the same response would occur where conditions vary.

7 Conclusion The total number of dead house flies collected from both locations equaled 14,665, that is almost doubled the number of house flies collected in All of the baits collected a similar amount with QuikStrike bait collecting the most at A total of 2060 dead house flies were collected with Golden Malrin and 1805 house flies were collected with the Quick Bayt. The Captivator pheromone trap collected 8,050 dead house flies. This year a total of 17 agents throughout north, central and east Texas took part in the house fly demonstration project. The total number of dead house flies 225,190 collected this year was almost double the number from 2013 (130,185). Many counties noticed considerably more house flies and increased precipitation. Each county tested Golden Malrin and therefore it collected 14,715 house flies, which is less than half of the number from last year (31072). The QuickBayt collected a total of 22,562 house flies, similar to the number from 2013 (24,717). This year the QuikStrike collected the highest number of house flies ever, 13,584, this is 3,000 more than in 2013 and a good sign for the efficacy of the bait. The alternative pheromone traps are proving to be worth their money and collecting large numbers of house flies. Data shows some of the traps to be more effective than others but for the most part the more common (Fly Terminator, Trap N Toss, Fly Captivator and Giant Fly Relief) traps are extremely

8 effective with a total number of 174,329 house flies, this is triple the number collected last year (55695). A final comparative analysis that needs further assessment is looking into the number of house flies collected per bait divided by the number of barns testing the baits. In 2014 a total of 17 farms used Golden Malrin, 14 used QuikStrike, 16 used Quick Bayt and 12 used the pheromone traps. In 2013, 21 barns used Golden Malrin, 14 used QuikStrike, 17 used Quick Bayt and 8 used the pheromone traps. The numbers are similar if not the same each year for the number of locations using the bait stations. There were 4 less barns involved using the Golden Malrin and four additional barns were able to test the pheromone traps. Overall in 2013 the fly numbers broke down to 1,482 for GM, 772 for QS, 1,766 for QB and 7,943 for the pheromone traps. In 2014 the numbers were lower for GM (866) and QB (1,410), QS was higher with 970 and the pheromone traps was doubled with 14,527. Statistical analysis conducted on 2013 data shows no front runner when it comes to the scatter baits but the pheromone traps, for the most part, are significantly more effective at controlling house flies in and around barns. Acknowledgements A special thanks to James Colby Moreland and family and Jody and Robin Thomas and family for planting, managing and harvesting this trial. Thank you to our Ag Industries Committee for their time and effort put forth on the house fly demonstration plots. A special thanks to Dr. Sonja Swiger. Trade names of commercial products used in this report is included only for better understanding and clarity. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M University System is implied. Readers should realize that results from one experiment do not represent conclusive evidence that the same response would occur where conditions vary.