Swatting the fly and destroying breeding places play an important part in the Clean-Up Campaign of every community, and in nearly every city fly extermination literature is distributed during clean-up week. Bulletins, rubber stamps, fly traps, motion pictures, lectures, lantern slides, and everything available are used to depict the ravages of the fly. Fly extermination leaflets are sent to business establishments, to mothers’ clubs, and post cards to merchants whose places of business might be noticed to be fly infected. Boy Scouts distribute the literature and also report as to stable conditions. Letters directed to business establishments, suggesting the use of fly swatters and traps as advertising material, are a further movement against the house fly. In Cincinnati a circular explaining the need of exterminating the winter fly was distributed through school children, and a marked reduction in the number of flies was secured. A special general committee on fly extermination was named and became one of the most active factors in the campaign. Classes in manual training in the public schools made fly traps, the Public Library had prepared a complete set of lantern slides on fly extermination, and the committee had prepared and printed and distributed 50,000 circulars on the house fly and methods of extermination.
Results of Campaigns
A tour through any city on the first day after Clean-Up Week will convince the most incredulous that in promoting this movement the municipality materially lessens the fire risk and makes a marked improvement in sanitary conditions. Everywhere are heaps of waste materials and discarded articles, such as old bed springs, mattresses, sofas, glass, crockery, stoves, carpets, baby coaches, piled along the curb.
The following are some of the results conceded worth while in most of the cities engaged in the movement:
A continuous campaign accomplishing permanent good.
Stimulation of business. A canvass of the cities having clean-up campaigns resulted in the showing that 71 per cent. of the merchants were positive that their business had been increased.
Improvement of housing conditions.
Distinct educational value for the young.
Prohibition of open garbage cans in some cities.
Sanitation in the handling of food products.