One more thing that helps out is fly traps. For every fly killed in the spring , five thousand you won't have to deal with later. ( agreeing with what Dun said ) I use the one gallon plastec jug size. You can make your own if you have the time. The bait is easy to make with yeast and a little ammonium carbonate in water left to ferment. Good luck!
> Rod
> Fly control, there is no real
> prevention, has to be addressed as
> a multi-facteted problem. Except
> horseflys, I don't think there
> really is anything truly effective
> against them that is practical.
> Sanitation particularly in a
> drylot or in concentration areas
> is the first issue. Keep it dry,
> spread out the manure so it can
> dry out, no water bog spots, break
> the pats down so they can dry more
> effectively. Sparys, wipes, rubs
> with an insecticide, we use a
> hanging mop type of deal with
> diesel and permethrin in a spot
> that the cattle have to pass
> through to get to or return from
> water. Several years ago we
> started using minerals with Rabon,
> a larvacide, that has proven
> effective. The catch with that is
> that you have to start using it
> before the flys get going very
> much. You won't see a decrease in
> flys, you just won't notice that
> there are many of them. Last but
> not least, wild turkeys, or in
> areas without them, guineas or
> free range chickens. They will
> help to break down the pats and
> will eat the larva, larvacides
> aren't really 100% effective.
> Simple isn't it? You could
> probably throw in insecticide ear
> tags although we've never found
> them particularly effective or
> worth the cost or hassle. The
> thing to remember is that you have
> to remove the old tag whne the
> package label says they're no
> longer effective. There is some
> research that claims that eaving
> them in past their effective date
> contributes to flies that are
> resistant to them.
> dun