Development of the Knight Stick Stable Fly Trap into an Attract and Kill Device

The stable fly is a cosmopolitan blood-feeding pest of livestock and other large and small animals. Their bites are painful and cause predicted defensive behaviors, particularly cattle, which can result in animal discomfort and decreased weight gains. Some of the most efficacious traps attract stable flies by reflecting light in attractive wavelengths. Flies are then captured when they contact an adjacent sticky surface. These traps must be serviced, but the sticky surfaces can fill with flies in less than a week when fly populations are high. To reduce the amount of servicing required, an attract and kill system was developed to attract the flies but kill them before they reach the sticky surface. Traps were placed inside of a cylinder of D-Terrence pesticide-treated netting. Size and numbers of openings in the netting were decided upon by watching flies pass through a variety of openings. An array of openings allowed for maximum attraction to the trap and maximum fly contact to the netting. The attract and kill devices must also be serviced, but not as often as other traps. D-Terrence contains deltamethrin and some stable flies may be resistant. However, the system can be used with alternative toxicants.