Dissemination of microbial contaminants from house flies electrocuted by five insect light traps

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Abstract
Five insect light traps were tested for their ability to produce microbial contamination by house fly electrocution. Four traps use high voltage to kill or maim flies: Gardner®, model AG61; Fly Magnet®, Ecolab model 1890; Don Gilbert® Industries, Model 220; and Insect‐O‐Cutor®, model 2489DGA Sentinel. The fifth trap, Micro Gen Vector® system, model 2000, disorients flies with a low voltage, electrical pulse, causing the flies to be trapped on an adhesive board. The traps were suspended in a closed plexiglass chamber and flies introduced directly to the electric grid. Ballistic microbes, quickly setting microbial agents that may be associated with insect debris, were sampled by placing petri dishes containing nonselective nutrient agar beneath the traps and monitoring microbial growth. Microbial aerosols, air suspended microbes, were monitored using an Andersen, six‐stage, microbial particle sizing sampler. In both the ballistic microbe and microbial aerosol experiments, the four high voltage light traps generated higher numbers of microbial agents than the low voltage light trap.

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