Techniques for management of adult stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) in zoological parks

Stable flies have been found to be a major pest of exotic animals in some zoological parks across the US. On-site development sites for these flies usually do not exist and the sanitation in the zoological parks is usually excellent. These vicious blood feeders arrive at the zoological parks from unknown off-site locations. In the course of taking a blood meal, flies can cause defensive behaviors and irritability in some animals, and produce open lesions in others. If approved treatments exist, they can be difficult to impossible to apply to exotic animals. Traps have been used extensively and do provide some relief. However, hungry flies tend to visit animals first then go to traps second. Enough traps must be used to capture flies faster than they are arriving on site. This can only be done by trial and error. Toxic blue-black cloth targets can also help reduce fly numbers, but like traps, placement cannot always be in the most efficacious location. The same is true for the Vestergaard ZeroFly toxic fabric. ZeroFly resembles shade cloth and it can be used as such when mounted vertically or horizontally. Flies are not attracted to the ZeroFly, like they are to the blue-black targets, but it provides a place for flies to land where there might not otherwise be any structure. Recently fans have been used in appropriate locations. Air movement from fans is used to deter flies in stores and housing for domestic animals. Flies avoid the fans because they are unable to control their flight. When fans were tried in one zoological park, the animals not only liked them, they tended to spend quite a bit of time near the fans. In some naturalistic parks, the fans can be partially camouflaged and not easily be seen by the public. These techniques, using no pesticides or focused use of pesticides, have been used to provide some degree of relief for the animals from the stable fly nuisance.