| Myth #2: ILT units function well as long as the bulb is lit. Black
light lamps have an effective life of about 7,000 hours, or about 9 1/2 months. Some
managers replace the bulb only when it burns out, as with ordinary light bulbs. The bulbs
should be wiped clean occasionally and replaced as needed. This should be part of an
add-on service offered by the pest control operator, along with general cleaning,
servicing, and possibly changing the position of the unit for a better catch.
Myth #3: Traps
with glueboards are better and more efficient than electrocutors.
This could be true if glueboards are replaced before they get covered with flies or
dust, or before they become dried out. Unless checked frequently, a fly could bounce off
dead flies and pull away, with glue stuck on a claw, and fall below.
Myth #4: ILTs
can be placed over or near food and food contact surfaces.
In response to a request to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration to confirm an
advertising claim that the FDA approved that advertiser’s brand of ILT “for use
in sensitive areas such as in and above food prep areas,” FDA’s R.D. Beaulieu
wrote, “We can find no record of correspondence where FDA declared that such systems
could be used as specified in the above quote. We are very concerned with the usage of any
insect control system or device above food preparation (surfaces or equipment). FDA has no
authority to approve specific products....”.
David Gilbert, an ILT manufacturer, emphasizes that “flies do not always fly
directly to the light. They often land on a nearby surface before heading for the light.
It is best to locate ILTs away from the food prep area. That is, catch the flies before
they get there, wherever possible.”
Myth #5: Black
light blue (BLB) bulbs or combinations of BLB and black light (BL) bulbs are more
effective than BL lamps alone.
In a test reported in the Journal of Economic Entomology in 1989 by L.G. Pickens, BL
bulbs performed better than the BL/BLB combination. This corroborated a statement by T.L.
Schwarz of the FDA in a letter dated October 30, 1987.
Myth #6:
Stunning circuitry improves the catch of glueboard ILTs.
In one reported case, when two identical stunning ILTs were placed on opposites ends of
a test room, the unit with its circuitry connected was only 1% more effective than the one
with its stunning feature disconnected.
Myth #7:
Ultraviolet emissions from ILTs can affect human health.
A letter dated April 2, 1993 from the senior scientist of Sylvania Lighting Co., Salem,
Mass., reports that tests show emissions from black lights in ILTs are well below
threshold limit values (TLVs) of the American Conference of Governmental Hygienists. The
TLVs are used nationally and internationally. The black light lamp appears to have no
characteristics that indicated likely hazards to human health--in either the short term or
the long term.
REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
With neither type of trap should one expect 100% control of house flies as soon as the
lamp is turned on. In one test with 100 flies in a small closed room, the trap caught less
than 30% in the first 5 minutes, and 60% within 15 minutes. It took 2 hours to capture the
last fly.
In V.G. Dethier’s “The Hungry Fly,” the most important factor in
housefly behavior is the intensity and wave length of the light. Other strong stimuli,
however, can delay their trip to the trap. These include a search for food, water, mating,
resting places, and so on. Female flies, according to Dethier, spend 13% of their time
walking or flying, 3% feeding, 30% regurgitating, 14% grooming, and 40% resting.
Pest Control professionals who do not include insect light traps in their integrated pest management programs are passing up a lucrative and
vital element in servicing their trade.
Reproduced with permission from the August 1995 edition
of
PCT Magazine (Pest Control Technology Magazine). |
