Sticky traps for large scale house fly (Diptera : Muscidae) trapping in New York poultry facilities

Large sticky traps were evaluated under field conditions in two commercial high-rise, caged-layer poultry facilities in New York. To determine the lon gevity of trap efficacy in capturing house flies, Musca domestica L., we ex posed varying lengths of adhesive coated ribbon to the flies, dust, and deb ris common in caged-layer poultry facilities. One side of each poultry faci lity received traps with 1.2 m of exposed adhesive, whereas traps with 2.4 m of exposed ribbon were placed on the opposite side. Significantly more ho use flies were captured using 2.4-m traps on 4 of the first 5 weeks when fl y densities were highest. During all sampling weeks, traps exposed for 3- a nd 1-day intervals captured significantly more flies per day per meter of t rap than the 7-day trap intervals. Furthermore, on 7 of the 10 weeks, 3-day trapping captured significantly more flies per meter per day than 4-day tr apping, indicating a rapid deterioration in trap efficacy. Spot card data d ocumented the reduction in fly densities at the bird level (upstairs) as th e study progressed. The estimated number of house flies captured during thi s 10-wk study was greater than 9 million.