Development of an auto-dissemination device for improved fly control on poultry facilities with microbial products

The goal is to develop a microbial control tool product for house flies that is effective and economical to be part of the poultry industry's fly control strategy. The outcome would be facilitating the control of filth flies in poultry facilities in a sustainable way, protecting animal welfare and human health from pathogens that cause disease that can be transmitted by house flies.The objectives of this project are to:collect new fungal isolates from flies on Pennsylvania poultry facilities and screening them to identify strains with faster kill times;test the most promising strains, and subjecting them to selection for further improvements in kill times;develop a novel auto-dissemination method for the fungus with commercial potential that is effective and easy to use.The research is a combination of laboratory studies for fungal virulence and proof of concept for the auto-dissemination device, as well as field studies to test the device on poultry farms. The outcome would be an improved non-pesticide control agent that could be used alone or in conjunction with other biological control to reduce filth fly pests on poultry facilities. The proposed work has the additional benefit of supporting the research of a new poultry entomology program in Pennsylvania, where the industry has had no entomology research faculty for over 20 years.