Pest control (3)

Insects

…. mainly flies of one sort or another. It’s difficult at the moment to predict accurately what kinds of insect pests will be present on site, but aside from (probably) relatively minor infestations associated with stored feed, the main issues are likely to be with flies.

Lesser houseflies,

The eggs of lesser houseflies are laid into liquid and semi liquid decaying organic matter, particularly poultry and other dung. The larvae hatch within 24 hours and spend that stage of the life cycle in the same medium as the eggs. In optimal conditions the larvae will pupate in about a week, before emerging into an adult fly about two to three weeks after that. These flies are most likely to be present in the sheds, although in the warmer summer months they will breed and successfully complete their life cycle outdoors.

The applicant has stated that they plan to use techniques to dry the indoor litter as much as possible, but research has shown (4) that lesser house flies will successfully breed in moisture levels as low as 20%. The moisture content of the “dried” manure is likely to be higher than this.

Because of their life cycle, being linked closely with faeces, and their flight range of several tens of metres, more with the wind behind them, lesser houseflies present a significant risk of disease to any dwellings they may enter.

Houseflies

To the layman, Houseflies look broadly similar to the Lesser Houseflies but have a different ‘lifestyle’. The eggs are usually laid on decaying organic matter which is not yet liquid, and the larvae hatch and feed on that same material, leaving it to pupate in cool dry areas. The compete life cycle will be completed in between one to four weeks, depending on environmental conditions

House flies have a flight range of one to two miles, and studies using marked flies have found that 60% to 80% of flies were captured within one mile of their release point (5), and 85% to 95% or the released individuals were captured within two miles. It also reasonable to assume that these ranges will increase downwind of a release point

Taking their greater range into account, and a broadly similar ‘lifestyle’, common houseflies present a significantly greater disease risk to dwellings within a 1 – 2 mile radius of the development site.