Protecting tailgaters from pesky flys.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Whether it is before a professional or college football game or a local baseball matchup, most sports enthusiasts share something in common: tailgating, with fans packing parking lots from coast to coast during every sports season.

However, when the host serves burgers, wings, and chips and dips for friends, they are not the only ones craving the snacks. Flies are attracted to food left out in the open, and many people underestimate the health threat they pose: research shows flies are twice as filthy as cockroaches. Each time a fly lands on food or utensils, it can leave behind thousands of germs that could cause illnesses from diarrhea to food poisoning.

Despite the contamination risk, most people simply wave flies away and continue eating what the insects have touched. In a recent Orkin Pest Control survey, 61% of respondents said that they still would eat their meal after a fly touched it, but only three percent said they would continue eating after a cockroach came in contact with the food.

To help protect...