Efficiency of Neem Oil against housefly (M.domestica)

Abstract

The successful control of the common house fly requires an integrated pest management approach. Larvae and pupae are most dominant life stages of house flies, in terms of population percentage indicating that secondary impact of essential oils to control insect population should be studied. The present study showed that Neem oil is good repellent agent against adult housefly. Neem oil treatment also showed fairly good efficacy against housefly larvae (2nd and 3rd instar), although the same control efficacy of Neem oil could not be observed for housefly pupae. The Neem oil encapsulated beads are stable under ambient condition for long exposure time with good effectiveness. It can be concluded that the plant based herbal ectoparasiticidal product is quite efficacious as a housefly repellent. The housefly is a non-biting fly measuring about 1/4 inches long. Adult houseflies have two wings and four lengthwise black stripes on their backs. The abdomen typically appears checkered. Eggs are usually laid in masses on organic material such as manure and garbage. Hatching occurs within a few hours. The young larvae burrow into the breeding material; they must obtain oxygen from the atmosphere and can, therefore, survive only where sufficient fresh air is available. When the breeding medium is very wet they can live on its surface only, whereas in drier materials they may penetrate to a depth of several centimeters. They hatch after about 12 hours and the larvae, or maggots, feed on the rotting organic material. A maggot passes through three larval stages and then forms a pupa, or cocoon. The adult fly emerges from the cocoon.