Low-Cost Plastic Fruit Fly Trap1

Abstract

A trap developed in 1956 for the Florida Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) eradication program was constructed from a polystyrene refrigerator jar 5.5 in. long and 3.5 to 4.5 in. in diameter having a screw-on cap with gasket. A 1-in. length of clear plastic tubing of 1.5 in. inside diameter was cemented inside each end of the trap around openings of the same size. In use the trap was suspended horizontally from an eyebolt placed on one side at the point of balance. It was designed to utilize new chemical lures such as angelica seed oil in combination with a poison (DDVP) absorbed in a cotton or other suitable wick without need of liquid to trap the flies but with a pinch of chlordane dust added to prevent ant depredation and assist in fly kill. In comparative tests the new dry trap proved superior to other plastic models including one like the commonly used bell-shaped glass trap. It also proved effective in tests with the oriental fruit fly (Dacus dorsalis) and the melon fly (D. cucurbitae) when baited with appropriate lures. More than 60,000 of the traps were procured for use in the Florida med-fly program and elsewhere at great savings in costs and a substantial increase in the efficiency of fuit fly detection procedures.