Combination of Phagostimulant and Visual Lure as an Effective Tool in Designing House Fly Toxic Baits: A Laboratory Evaluation

House flies (Diptera: Muscidae), potential vectors of a variety of pathogens, characteristically search and feed on sugar sources just after emergence for their survival. Phagostimulants like sugars, and visual characteristics of feeding materials play an important role in foraging success in house flies. Therefore, development of toxic baits by using the combination of phagostimulant and visual lure may prove effective in localized control of house flies. In the present study, visual attraction of house flies to different fabric colors was studied in choice and no choice experiments. Dark blue was the most preferred color in both experiments. In toxicity experiments, insecticide solutions were prepared in 20% sugar solution. Dark blue fabric strips were prepared by moistening with 20% sugar water solution containing median lethal concentrations of one of the four insecticides viz., fipronil, Imidacloprid, indoxacarb and Spinosad. The fabric strips treated with fipronil and Imidacloprid took minimum time (7.66 and 7.81 h, respectively) to cause 50% mortality, while those treated with Spinosad and indoxacarb took relatively more time (13.62 and 17.91 h, respectively) to cause 50% mortality. In conclusion, the combination of phagostimulant and visual lure could be used in designing toxic baits for house flies.