Back Rub Potion

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The horse flies are horrible right now. The large ones are attached to the backs of the cows and it seems I cannot find the right potion to stop.

I have the rubber hanging so low the 4 month old calves can get a full back wipe. The older cows just lift it up and walk slowly under it. They must walk under it each time they come up to get water, as I have it hanging in the gate where they enter the lot.
I keep it treated to the point that it starts to run out of the rubber quickly each time I add more, which is every 2-3 days.

My mixture is as follows in a 2 gallon gas can:
10 oz Ravap
4oz Permethrin-10
Fill up the rest of the way with diesel fuel and shake it.

I pour this on the rub until it drips.

Tell me of a better insecticide mix. The cattle refuse to let me spray them, it just makes them run when they see me coming.
 
Chuckie":3fd47uui said:
The horse flies are horrible right now. The large ones are attached to the backs of the cows and it seems I cannot find the right potion to stop.

I have the rubber hanging so low the 4 month old calves can get a full back wipe. The older cows just lift it up and walk slowly under it. They must walk under it each time they come up to get water, as I have it hanging in the gate where they enter the lot.
I keep it treated to the point that it starts to run out of the rubber quickly each time I add more, which is every 2-3 days.

My mixture is as follows in a 2 gallon gas can:
10 oz Ravap
4oz Permethrin-10
Fill up the rest of the way with diesel fuel and shake it.

I pour this on the rub until it drips.

Tell me of a better insecticide mix. The cattle refuse to let me spray them, it just makes them run when they see me coming.
I've never found a concoction that will repel horse flys. Some people swear by the yellow sulphur salt blocks but I've never seen them do any good
 
chuckie, I am north of you and they are abundant this year. My cows are docile. I interact with them often in the field. I was among them once this week and as I approached the bull, he put his head down and shook it. Then, he made a move toward me and I cleared out. He had three horseflies on his back. There were little beads of blood near them where they had used their sickle like blades of their proboscis to open the skin, inject the anticoagulant and sop up the blood. A couple of the cows behaved nervously. I attributed it to the aggravation the horseflies were causing.
 
They are making the cattle miserable. They are gentle enough that I can stand directly beside them, but they do not want me to touch them. So swatting flies are off. Wish I could hire some of those white cow birds to come hang around the pasture. I have seen some birds diving-swooping over their backs a time or two. Then there are the little cow birds that stand in the shade underneath the cows during the day....wish I could tell them to go upstairs. But if they are too lazy to sit on their own eggs and raise their own babies, I don't think I can convince them to go stand on the cow's back, and start hunting big game in the sun. What do you think inyati?
 
Chuckie":3dcw7gqv said:
They are making the cattle miserable. They are gentle enough that I can stand directly beside them, but they do not want me to touch them. So swatting flies are off. Wish I could hire some of those white cow birds to come hang around the pasture. I have seen some birds diving-swooping over their backs a time or two. Then there are the little cow birds that stand in the shade underneath the cows during the day....wish I could tell them to go upstairs. But if they are too lazy to sit on their own eggs and raise their own babies, I don't think I can convince them to go stand on the cow's back, and start hunting big game in the sun. What do you think inyati?

So I am not the only one who watches the brown headed cow bird that is brood parasitic. I wrote my master's thesis in herpetology (amphibians and reptiles) but I took all the field courses, ichthyology, ornithology, mammalogy, etc. I was the last of the mohicans when it comes to the classical biologist. Now biology is performed at the molecular level. No one even looks at the whole animal anymore, except my special lady, chuckie and me. ;-)
 
inyati13":1wfuasog said:
Chuckie":1wfuasog said:
They are making the cattle miserable. They are gentle enough that I can stand directly beside them, but they do not want me to touch them. So swatting flies are off. Wish I could hire some of those white cow birds to come hang around the pasture. I have seen some birds diving-swooping over their backs a time or two. Then there are the little cow birds that stand in the shade underneath the cows during the day....wish I could tell them to go upstairs. But if they are too lazy to sit on their own eggs and raise their own babies, I don't think I can convince them to go stand on the cow's back, and start hunting big game in the sun. What do you think inyati?

So I am not the only one who watches the brown headed cow bird that is brood parasitic. I wrote my master's thesis in herpetology (amphibians and reptiles) but I took all the field courses, ichthyology, ornithology, mammalogy, etc. I was the last of the mohicans when it comes to the classical biologist. Now biology is performed at the molecular level. No one even looks at the whole animal anymore, except my special lady, chuckie and me. ;-)
Last year I started warfare on BH cowbirds. This year I saw Chipping Sparrows feeding their own young and none feeding the BHC young. I continued the war this year and think I'll continue into the future.
 
dun":271p66zx said:
inyati13":271p66zx said:
Chuckie":271p66zx said:
They are making the cattle miserable. They are gentle enough that I can stand directly beside them, but they do not want me to touch them. So swatting flies are off. Wish I could hire some of those white cow birds to come hang around the pasture. I have seen some birds diving-swooping over their backs a time or two. Then there are the little cow birds that stand in the shade underneath the cows during the day....wish I could tell them to go upstairs. But if they are too lazy to sit on their own eggs and raise their own babies, I don't think I can convince them to go stand on the cow's back, and start hunting big game in the sun. What do you think inyati?

So I am not the only one who watches the brown headed cow bird that is brood parasitic. I wrote my master's thesis in herpetology (amphibians and reptiles) but I took all the field courses, ichthyology, ornithology, mammalogy, etc. I was the last of the mohicans when it comes to the classical biologist. Now biology is performed at the molecular level. No one even looks at the whole animal anymore, except my special lady, chuckie and me. ;-)
Last year I started warfare on BH cowbirds. This year I saw Chipping Sparrows feeding their own young and none feeding the BHC young. I continued the war this year and think I'll continue into the future.

chuckie, we have to add dun to the list of people who knows what is going on at the whole animal level. :banana:
 
I use used motor oil and permethryn. I use 8 oz. of permethryn to every 5 gallons of oil. Nearly all of my flies on the backs of the cows are gone. However, I'm still having trouble with face flies. I keep them knocked down with a dust bag hanging near the mineral.

I've got a neighbor who swears by a hi mag mineral with fly stock. He feeds it year round along with ear tags if he gets a chance.
 
Do a web search for portable horse fly traps. Down side is you have to protect them from the cows tearing them up.
 
I am not having having much of a problem with the little black flies that cover their backs and bellies. It is the horse flies. I believe there is a difference in the two insecticides that we are using. I thought surely the two fly repellants would have worked. I have not tried used motor oil.
Inyati, I watch everything that is alive. I love to look at the little cow birds hanging around in the shade of the cows, waiting for a bug to be kicked up. They just stand there doing nothing, moving with the shade. Can they look above and see that is where all the food is hanging out? The black bird is one of this smartest birds, and the Cow Bird is included in this group. But I don't think they are actually related, unless they are the dumb cousins. It may be the color, and the fact that they migrate. Some would consider them laying their eggs in another's nest smart. I think they are like chickens that don't set. They just lay eggs in the nest, and don't think anything about it.
 
Chuckie":3pgby0q7 said:
I am not having having much of a problem with the little black flies that cover their backs and bellies. It is the horse flies. I believe there is a difference in the two insecticides that we are using. I thought surely the two fly repellants would have worked. I have not tried used motor oil.
Inyati, I watch everything that is alive. I love to look at the little cow birds hanging around in the shade of the cows, waiting for a bug to be kicked up. They just stand there doing nothing, moving with the shade. Can they look above and see that is where all the food is hanging out? The black bird is one of this smartest birds, and the Cow Bird is included in this group. But I don't think they are actually related, unless they are the dumb cousins. It may be the color, and the fact that they migrate. Some would consider them laying their eggs in another's nest smart. I think they are like chickens that don't set. They just lay eggs in the nest, and don't think anything about it.
I would not put motor oil on my cattle. I use a mist of permethrin.

Birds have keen sense of sight. But they focus it on a narrow range. There are exceptions but they are more narrowed in their peripheral capabilites than say a dog or human. When you say black bird is it really a black bird or a Grackle. They are all consisted perching birds but I would have to refer to my Ornithology book to see if they are in the same Family. I do remember they are in the same Order. Laying eggs in other birds nest does not imply intelligence, it is hard wired into their cerebrum. So you are correct. They don't contemplate their actions like humans or primates. I will check the family they belong to to night.
 
We have flycatchers (the bird, can't remember it's full name) here,.. they are pretty much grey with a pale yellow neck, and sit on fenceposts and dive to catch flies in mid-air...

I had some small biting flies on the bellies of the cows this year, 1000's on each cow, so on the cows that would let me, I'd spray Absorbine Ultrashield, which worked fairly well.

About a month ago or so, the yellowjacket (Norway wasp) population absolutely exploded, and they have pretty much taken care of all the flies on the cows, all the caterpillars in the garden, etc... they are a bit of a pain when we try to eat outside, but it's extremely rare we get stung... I was stung once while changing irrigation lines this year when I stepped on one, so they have actually been quite beneficial to us.

I wouldn't put motor oil on my cattle either... even diesel is disgusting to me,... perhaps you can fine Neem oil? it's the oil from the seed of the Neem tree, and apparently it's a very strong insecticide that's harmless to mammals (it's apparently used in skin creams, etc)...

Perhaps garlic oil? Pine oil?... other things that may work are Camphor, citronella, Deet... Rotenone...

The cowbirds we have around here are often on the backs of the cows... I've seen 3 sitting on the top of a cow's poll which would have been a good picture
 

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