Illinois farmers whose livestock are plagued by flies have finally got some help: the Tower of Doom and the Dungeon of Doom, solar-powered fly traps developed by Olson Products, Inc. of Medinah, Ohio.
The devices not only sound like something from an Indiana Jones movie, they look like it. They’re 18-inch-high molded plastic pyramids that rest atop a two-foot cube. Flies are attracted to sunlight reflecting off the white pyramid, but when they land, they’re zapped by a weak electric current from a solar generator. The shock’s enough to kill flies but won’t harm birds or small animals. Nor does the trap attract beneficial insects.
Five flies on the front legs of a cow or pig can cause weight loss of up to 1/2 lb. per day, reports Farm Journal. Oh, yes, the traps work in back yards, too.
