Habits
Sandflies are troublesome noctural pests. Their bite is irritating and painful, while their presence is scarcely observed. They infest dwellings during night, and take shelter during day in holes and crevices in walls, holes in trees, dark rooms, stables and store rooms. The females alone bite, as they require a blood meal every third or fourth day for oviposition. Sandflies are incapable of flying over long distances; they merely hop about from one place to another. Sandflies are generally confined to within 50 yards of their breeding places.

SPECIES & Disease Transmitted
Phlebotomus argentipes: Kala–azar
Phlebotomus papatasii: Sandfly fever, Oriental sore
Phlebotomus sergenti: Oriental Sore
S. punjabensis: Sandfly fever

Control of Sandflies
Sandflies are easily controlled because they do not move long distances from the place of their breeding.

Insecticides
Resistance to DDT has not been demonstrated. A single application of 1 to 2 g/m2 of DDT or 0.25 g/m2 of lindane has been found effective in reducing sandflies. DDT residue may remain effective for a period of 1 to 2 years, and lindane only for a period of 3 months (17). Spraying should be done in the human dwellings, cattle sheds and other places.


Sanitation
Sanitation measures such as removal of shrubs and vegetation within 50 yards of human dwellings, filling up cracks and crevices in walls and floors, and location of cattle sheds and poultry houses at a fair distance from human habitations should receive attention.