Group -
Consider stuffing exterior building opening with copper wool gauze. Lasts
forever and far better than caulking. Available on-line from a variety of
sources.
Tom Parker
On Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 10:19:27 AM EDT, Adam Osgood
<[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Rich,
Many thanks for your thoughts. You are always a huge and appreciated expert
contributor to the Pestlist!
I guess my thinking was less to destroy the worms and more to remove a
preferred food source through de-thatching. I realize it’s not quite like
vacuuming to remove dust food for moths but I guess I was hoping the strategy
would translate. The property is large so if we made it less hospitable near
the house could we get the earthworms to migrate far enough to keep the
emerging parasitic flies from finding their way to the house?
I think I know the answer but thank you for indulging the thought exercise!
We’ve near exhausted exclusion and trapping efforts with unsatisfactory
results. This is an interpreted historic house so there is hesitance for larger
scale exclusion interventions which get costly and might not look right. How
bad does it have to get? These are questions for further up the chain.
Many thanks again!
Adam
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>On Behalf Of
Pollack, Richard J
Sent: Tuesday, October 1, 2024 9:14 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [PestList] Re: Cluster fly control through non-pesticide earthworm
control?
Adam,
This is an interesting question. I doubt that efforts to dethatch the lawn
nearby will measurably diminish the abundance of cluster flies that enter the
house. I am skeptical that the tines of the dethatching device will reach
sufficiently deep into the soil to kill many worms. Even if the device
destroyed a significant number of worms on the property, it would do nothing to
those on abutting properties. Cluster flies can and do fly far enough that
local management of this kind will likely fail.
The adult flies tend to accumulate on the southern- and western-facing exterior
walls, and follow the rising shadow as the sun sets late in the day. They’ll
find small openings around soffits, windows, and siding, and then enter the
wall voids. Once inside, they’ll follow the light they may see to enter the
human-occupied spaces.
I’d advise that you consider sealing or screening exterior penetrations on the
building, particularly those just below the roof line. If the building is not
insulated, consider blowing cellulose insulation into the exterior wall
cavities. These efforts should not only reduce opportunities for flies to
enter, but also improve the energy efficiency of the structure.
Best of success.
-Rich
Richard J. Pollack, PhD
Senior Environmental Public Health Officer
Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) | Harvard Campus Services
46 Blackstone Street., Cambridge, MA 02139
C: 617-447-0763
www.ehs.harvard.edu
From:[email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Adam
Osgood <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 9:02 AM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: [PestList] Cluster fly control through non-pesticide earthworm control?
Hi All!
We’ve had some ongoing and significant cluster fly challenges at one of our
house museums that is impacting the collections and visitor experience.
Understanding that cluster flies are parasitic to earthworms we are thinking of
ways to manage the worms and as result, hopefully reducing the fly population
in a non-toxic way. I understand that de-thatching a lawn can remove organic
material which earthworms eat and can be effective in controlling them.
My Question: Does anyone have knowledge or experience in de-thatching a lawn as
a successful means of cluster fly control?
Many thanks and happy hunting everyone!
Adam
MuseumPests Working Group co-chair
Adam Osgood
he/him
Collections Technician and IPM Coordinator
Historic New England
Center for Preservation and Collections
151 Essex Street
Haverhill, MA 01832
617-994-6637
[email protected]
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