Another Fly Outbreak in Sugar Valley

Control Guidelines Issued Extension Office

LOGANTON – Agricultural officials say there is another fly outbreak, the second this year, in Sugar Valley.

Clinton County commissioner Pete Smeltz this week passed along an update on the efforts of the Penn State Agricultural Extension Office and Soil Conservation District to monitor the fly problem, what he called “a matter of great concern to the people of Sugar Valley.”

Beth Futrick, a agricultural ombudsman from the Blair Conservation District, alerted county government of the upsurge in flies on Monday of this week. She said instructions of dealing with the problem will be mailed to all farmers in the Loganton area.

Futrick said there is “a bit of good news” in that it had been a fairly damp summer and the flies remained under control until the recent resumption of the manure spreading season. She passed along control guidelines:

Farmers across the state are in the middle of peak harvest season. Corn, tobacco, soybeans, and hay are harvested in late summer through the autumn months. Central Pennsylvania producers take time after harvest to spread manure. This helps replenish nutrients and organic matter back into the soil for next year’s crops. Producers take measures to properly manage manure and part of that management is reducing flies associated with farming.

It is common to field stack manure prior to spreading in the fall. At times this may cause fly problems in the area. House, stable, lesser house and other true flies (Diptera) can breed in these piles if moisture levels in the piles increase. Then as the manure is spread, flies can emerge from the manure and create a control issue. House flies (Muscidae) can venture more than a mile if conditions are right, so it is in the best interest of the farm to control flies.

To control flies a farm can employ an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan for the cropland. The IPM plan involves three important steps:

Scouting: Looking for pests and signs of pest breeding (speck cards, digging in pile, fly ribbons on stakes). Scout manure that is being delivered to the farm.

Control: Employing cultural and other methods of pest control to knock down numbers. Reducing manure moisture is key to fly control.

Review: Periodically reviewing how well control is working and making adjustments

Common controls used in field stacks can include:

Tarp piles within 10 days and compost pile covered for 14 days.

• Compost fleece and plastic (black / clear) visqueen* are useful. These can be staked down to keep in place during storage of manure.

• Windrow manure to help make covering easier.

• Use only dry manure kept in shelters prior to use.

• Apply a fly larva growth regulator (IGR) to the pile

• Spread the manure thinly in the field so to speed drying.

• Aerate the pile by scooping and restacking to enhance composing.

• Mix in organic matter so to speed composting. Straw, feed refusals, wood chips, bedding and other materials commonly found on the farm can be used as compost amendment.

Proper handling of manure stacks can keep flies from becoming a serious problem.