What the heck is that thing?
Everything you wanted to know about Holgate’s Greenhead Fly Traps.
Those big, black boxes you see near the marshes and around the township may look like big black boxes to you, but to a nasty, literally blood-sucking greenhead fly, it’s a cow. Or a horse. Or some other large, fleshy, blood-containing mammal.
Now you’d think that with those 6,000 or so beady little eyes that flies have, they’d see it was just a large wooden box with a mesh screen on top. But that shape, when combined with the scent of the bait inside, convinces them that it’s a delectable dinner just waiting to happen.
How it works
Researchers who have devoted their lives to documenting fly behavior may not be people you want to sit next to at a porch party, but they do know that carnivorous flies tend to circle their prey before attacking. Even if that prey only has two legs. So these traps have a cone-shaped funnel underneath – which serves as an entranceway right into the trap.
Once those flies get in, they hardly ever get out. The sunlight that comes in through the mesh screen apparently attracts them upwards, and for some reason, they don’t fly back down. They just crawl around on the mesh screen, upside down, until a day or so or later, having had no food or water they simply die off. (They can’t eat the bait because it’s packed in a container that only lets the scent out.) That’s it. No pesticides. No chemicals. Nothing but Mother Nature at work.
NOTE: The sun filtering through the screen is a very important part of the system. This is why nothing should ever be placed on top of the traps.
A bite of history
For years, greenhead flies plagued the whole area around Holgate. The flies could get so bad over the summer that people would leave the beaches, stay indoors, and even choose not to come to the island in order to avoid them.
Then, about 25 years ago, a Holgate homeowner vacationing in Cape Cod happened to see hundreds of these black boxes up there. He asked what they were and how they worked, and took the idea back to the Holgate Taxpayers Association.
With that, Cliff Denker, Bill Hutson and Ted Stiles of the HTA started up Holgate’s fly trap program. Working closely with the Entomology Department of Rutgers University, they soon built a few traps of their own. Within a few summers, as the number of traps increased, it became clear that the greenhead fly population was dropping dramatically.
Seeing the results, Long Beach Township became a partner in the effort. Today, there are about 140 traps around Holgate, and a lot fewer flies than there used to be.
How you can help
Since they’re made of wood, the greenhead fly traps can take a beating from the winter weather. That’s why the HTA has created the Adopt-A-Trap Program, in which Holgate homeowners volunteer to take in a trap for the winter, and keep it safely stored in their garage or protected from the elements under a tarp.
All you need is a little protected space on your property and you can be part of the effort. There’s even an option to purchase a trap for yourself.
To find out more: email us at info@holgatetaxpayers.org or talk with one of your HTA Trustees
Greenhead Resource Links
Step by step greenhead trap building instructions
Dune Preservation and Protection
Holgate beaches are surveyed regularly and year round by the Township. When a dune in need of protection or build up is identified, the first step is to move sand during low tide up against the dune. The idea is to create enough dry, compacted ground so fence posts will remain in place. This is not always successful. Often, sand is not available at low tide. But when pushed up sand does remain in place, dune fencing is installed and wind driven sand begins to collect against it.
The Township has learned over the years that a contoured dune will withstand wave action against its face far better than a tall dune. Tall dunes get eroded at their base and collapse. Contoured dunes allow the surf to roll up their side with less erosion as the result. The Township has a continuing program to contour our oceanfront dunes.
A lifeguard’s first, second and third responsibility is for the safety of bathers. When people are observed walking across a dune outside of established walkways, the Township has installed dune fencing to stop people from walking out of their house and all over the dune. The Township will install fencing at the owner’s request to keep trespassers off the dune.
School Tax Reform
Information about school tax reform may be found here
Taxpayers warn about school funding
Parks and Public Facilities
Spring and Fall Clean Ups: Please sign up for the clean up of the parking lot and other public areas. Held in June and October.
It seems there are two issues we have here at the Bay Beach in Holgate: the changes in the playground, and the preservation of the beach.
Regarding the playground, special thanks is extended to our playground committee members for 1) their decision in the choice of the playground equipment, 2) agreeing to remove the roofs on the playground structures, and 3) that the color is to be beige. Very special thanks go to Ralph Bayard, Commissioner, and Andy Baran, Director of Public Works, for their plans for the installation of the playground equipment and viewing platform.
The consensus is that we are in agreement on the design and installation of the playground.
The second issue is the preservation of the beach area. There has been significant erosion over the years and it’s imperative that we correct that. My observation is that there should be no concrete along the water’s edge. Instead, adding sand would serve to build up the eroded dunes and planting dune grass on those areas would stabilize them. This seems to present an effective and natural solution to the problem.
Alternative measures should be presented and considered to determine the best method to be used in the areas where erosion is severe.
The deed for the bay beach states that this is a walking and bathing beach. This is how it should be used. Every day, families swim and wade in the bay and walk along the stretch of sand. Their children pick up shells and put them in their little sand buckets for souvenirs.
Remember: there are two incoming tides daily. On each incoming tide, new shells are deposited along the beach, replenishing the supply. This is the main reason that the bay beach should be preserved in its natural state as a recreational area.
There may be occasion when we need to add sand on a bay beach. They do it on the ocean beach; we should have the same availability on the bay beach.
We have a gem in the Holgate bay beach. We don’t know of any beaches in residential areas on Long Beach Island that compare to what we have here. Let’s covet and protect it in its natural state, not only for us, but also for our children and grandchildren.