Using Hister BeetlesHister Beetles Prevent Fly Outbreaks in Long-Term Poultry Manure Accumulations
Fly control is excellent in manure packs that have high numbers of Hister Beetles. We have observed beetle densities as high as 250 beetles per quart of manure and 12 beetles per square inch of manure. Houses that have been completely cleaned out and disinfected often need to be recolonized with Hister Beetles.
Use of Hister Beetles
- No Side Effects
- Long-term Fly Control
- Natural, Organic
- Reduces Chemical Use
The beetles are so tiny that 250 can fit in a milliliter.
They should not be confused with the much larger litter beetles (which are the same as darkling beetles and lesser mealworms). Litter beetles are brown and more than ¼ inch long. Litter beetles destroy insulation and structures. Hister beetles do NOT harm insulation or structures.
Hister beetles are shiny black beetles that are slightly longer than 1/16 inch. When you normally see them, they will have their legs and head tucked in under their bodies. The beetle in the illustration is crawling with a fly egg in its mandibles.
Pest Management
THE HISTER EFFECT: The Hister Beetle consumes large numbers of house fly eggs and small housefly larvae in poultry manure. Each adult destroys an average of 54 housefly immatures per day at 80° F. Hister larvae are also predaceous and highly aggressive.
Since Hister Beetles attack the early fly stages, your biological control program should include fly parasites to attack the flies that make it to the pupal stage.
Program Planning
Plan your next fly control program prior to cleanout. Call your beneficial insect supplier and set up a Fly Parasite introduction program to kill fly pupae AND order laboratory-reared Hister Beetle Adults to introduce into three week old manure.
IPM Laboratories, Inc. warrants that the biological controls you receive will be alive and healthy when received and will contain the correct number of the species you ordered. However, as with any pest control measure, success cannot be guaranteed.
IPM Laboratories, Inc. makes no guarantee, express or implied, as to the effectiveness of these products.
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