Synanthropic arthropods, particularly flies and stored product insects, are characteristically associated with human activity. Although these insects are stimulated to enter the home, they are frequently associated with animal agriculture because they live and breed in the manure, spoiled feeds and other organic materials on the farm. As farms increased in size and number of animals, so did quantities of manure and other insect breeding materials. Management of manure and the insects associated with manure is a challenge in poultry systems. Methods such as dry pit storage, deep stacking, open floor production on dry bedding, and composting, although feasible for many growers, create substantial accumulations of soiled bedding, litter, manure or compost.

Under such circumstances pest management is critical before, during and after storage and subsequent to land application of litter, manure or compost. Recognized as serious economic pests, flies and litter beetles are extremely difficult to control. Legal cases concerning nuisance flies and beetles often occur following the land application of animal waste. Over use of organic fertilizers has resulted in state and federal regulation through animal waste management plans. Alternative systems that reduce manure nutrients through management, and reduce the insects associated with animal wastes will lead to better efficient utilization of these materials.

In addition to nuisance issues relative to flies and other manure-breeding insects, animal wastes contain known foodborne pathogens. The role of filth breeding insects in the dissemination and transmission of foodborne illness is important to the development of pest management strategies intended to improve biosecurity within the farm, and between farms and the community. Understanding the role of these insects in the dissemination of foodborne pathogens may provide insight into the management of these bacteria in the pre-harvest interval.

House flies, Musca domestica, feed on a wide range of organic matter including manure and mixtures of manure, bodily excretions and decaying organic matter. The house fly is an important pest in poultry production. Dispersing distances of 2.3 to 11.8 km in 24 hours, public nuisance issues are a growing concern (Greenberg 1973, Thomas and Skoda 1993). House flies constitute a health hazard as well as an annoyance. Habitually these insects are likely to pick up disease-causing organisms and contaminate human food by crawling on the surface and depositing feces and regurgitated liquid. House flies have been implicated in the spread of over 30 bacterial and protozoan diseases.

The darkling beetle, Alphitobius diaperinus (a.k.a. litter beetle) has emerged as an important arthropod pest of poultry production (Axtell 1999). The beetle is a pest in two life-stages, mature larvae and adults. Mature larvae climb up the walls and posts of poultry facilities and chew into wood support structures and insulation weakening the structure and increasing energy consumption (Vaughn et al. 1984, Despins et al. 1987). The adult stage is a pest when manure is spread on fields. Evidence presented in litigation (Miller 1997) suggests that beetles move en masse toward artificial lights generated by residences near fields on which beetle-infested manure has been spread. The mechanism inducing such migration is poorly understood but important to solving nuisance and disease issues relative to this pest. The litter beetles is a known reservoir of wide variety of avian (and human) pathogens and parasites, including Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, tapeworms, avian leucosis virus, and turkey enterovirus (Axtell and Arends 1990, Despins et al. 1994, McAllister et al. 1994, 1996).

In this project we propose to evaluate manure management relative to filth flies, litter beetles and other insects. Manure management systems vary with commodity and region. Each member of this multistate project will concentrate on manure management practices within their respective states. In this study we concentrate on developing a standardized method of monitoring nuisance insects and developing methods to reduce pest densities before nuisance thresholds are met. Since many nuisance complaints arise following the land application of organic fertilizers, we will also investigate the impact of manure and litter treatments for the management of nuisance insects. Lastly, our efforts will concentrate on the role on filth breeding insects in the harborage and dissemination of foodborne pathogens, studying the dynamics and seasonality of the relationship between insect and pathogen, and the relative importance within the farm community and the pre-harvest interval.