The House Fly and How to Suppress It | Page 6

to the stable so that manure can be easily
thrown in at the time of cleaning and so constructed that the manure
can be readily removed. It is desirable that the manure be placed in
these fly-proof receptacles as soon as possible after it is voided. The
essential point is that flies be prevented from reaching the manure, and
for this reason the pit or bin must be tightly constructed, preferably of
concrete, and the lid kept closed except when the manure is being
thrown in or removed. The difficulty has been that manure often
becomes infested before it is put into the container, and flies frequently
breed out before it is emptied and often escape through the cracks. To
obviate these difficulties a manure box or pit with a modified tent trap
or cone trap attached is desirable.
In order to retain the fertilizing value of manure to the greatest extent it

is advisable that air be excluded from it as much as possible and that it
be protected from the leaching action of rains. This being the case,
there is really no necessity for covering a large portion of the top of the
box with a trap, but merely to have holes large enough to attract flies to
the light, and to cover these holes with ordinary conical traps, with the
legs cut off, so, that the bottoms of the traps will fit closely to the box.
The same arrangement can be made where manure is kept in a pit. If
manure boxes or pits are kept fly tight they are satisfactory under farm
or dairy conditions for the storage of manure during the busy season
when it can not be hauled out daily.
FREQUENCY WITH WHICH MANURE SHOULD BE REMOVED
IN CITIES AND TOWNS.
In deciding the question as to how often manure should be removed in
cities and towns, it should be borne in mind that when the larvæ have
finished feeding they will often leave the manure and pupate in the
ground below or crawl some distance away to pupate in débris under
boards or stones and the like. Hence the manure should be removed
before the larvæ reach the migratory stage; that is to say, removal is
necessary every three days, and certainly not less frequently than twice
a week during the summer months. A series of orders issued in 1906 by
the health department of the District of Columbia, on the authority of
the Commissioners of the District, covers most of these points, and
these orders, which may well serve as a model to other communities
desiring to undertake similar measures, may be briefly condensed as
follows:
HEALTH OFFICE REGULATIONS FOR CONTROL OF HOUSE
FLIES IN CITIES.
All stalls in which animals are kept shall have the surface of the ground
covered with a water-tight floor. Every person occupying a building
where domestic animals are kept shall maintain in connection therewith
a bin or pit for the reception of manure and, pending the removal from
the premises of the manure from the animal or animals, shall place such
manure in said bin or pit. This bin shall be so constructed as to exclude
rain water and shall in all other respects be water-tight, except as it may

be connected with the public sewer. It shall be provided with a suitable
cover and constructed so as to prevent the ingress and egress of flies.
No person owning a stable shall keep any manure or permit any manure
to be kept in or upon any portion of the premises other than the bin or
pit described, nor shall he allow any such bin or pit to be overfilled or
needlessly uncovered. Horse manure may be kept tightly rammed into
well-covered barrels for the purpose of removal in such barrels. Every
person keeping manure in the more densely populated parts of the
District shall cause all such manure to be removed from the premises at
least twice every week between June 1 and October 31, and at least
once every week between November 1 and May 31 of the following
year. No person shall remove or transport any manure over any public
highway in any of the more densely populated parts of the District
except in a tight vehicle, which, if not inclosed, must be effectually
covered with canvas, so as to prevent the manure from being dropped.
No person shall deposit manure removed from the bins or pits within
any of the more densely populated parts of the District without a permit
from the health officer. Any person violating any of the provisions shall,
upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $40 for
each offense.
Not only must horse stables be cared for, but chicken yards, piggeries,
and garbage receptacles as well.