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 longevity of trap efficacy in capturing house flies, Musca domestica L., we exposed varying lengths of adhesive coated ribbon to the flies, dust, and debris common in caged-layer poultry facilities. One side of each poultry facility 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 house flies were captured using 2.4-m traps on 4 of the first 5 weeks when fly densities were highest. During all sampling weeks, traps exposed for 3- and 1-day intervals captured significantly more flies per day per meter of trap 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 trapping, indicating a rapid deterioration in trap efficacy. Spot card data documented the reduction in fly densities at the bird level (upstairs) as the study progressed. The estimated number of house flies captured during this 10-wk study was greater than 9 million.