Advantages of Integrating Sterile-Male Releases with Other Methods of Control Against House Flies1

Abstract

This paper considers the potential advantages of integrating insecticidal control with the sterility approach in dealing with populations of medically important insects such as Musca domestica L. Specific theoretical models are presented to show the advantages of integrating applieations of insectieides or chemosterilant baits with releases of sterile males and are related to the biology of the house fly. The integration of these techniques of control would reduce the number of treatments with insecticides or chemosterilants that would be needed, would reduce the number of insects needed for the releases, and would reduce the time required to reach theoretical eradication. Use of insecticides to control the rate of increase of a population from generation to generation might make it possible to use sterile-male releases successfully against these species.