Heel flys
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ranchwife
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Okay....okay.....i'll ask.....What are "heel flies"? I am not familiar with that term around here??? :shock:
bigbull338
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are tiny little devils that bites cows heels and run them in the pool a headache like horn flys scott
Muratic
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ranchwife":1nser8bm said:
Round here we call em grubs. But I think that is the tecnical term for the larva of the heel fly
They get into my pocket book. they cut milk production, slow weight gain and Losses are suffered with carcass trim and lower meat quality.
Hate them.
CircleA
Well-known member
okay, stupid question time - how do you control heel flies?
I use a dust bag hung from an A frame in the pasture - seems to work in controlling horn flies and such.
btw, any ideas on how to make the dang dust bags last longer than a season??? (dang longhorns!)
Alex
I use a dust bag hung from an A frame in the pasture - seems to work in controlling horn flies and such.
btw, any ideas on how to make the dang dust bags last longer than a season??? (dang longhorns!)
Alex
bigbull338
Well-known member
well id say that you control them by spraying your cattle or oil rubbs or dust bags but like you say with longhorns they will make short work of the dust bags scott
milesvb
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dun":2eezqbwl said:
It's started here too. The cows are trotting around with tails in the air. Pretty soon they'll start crashing through the yaupons to shake off their tormentors.
certherfbeef
Well-known member
CircleA":2nrtps04 said:
Ivomec works here. I use the pour on.
Here is a parasite link from Merck. Scroll down a bit to find heel flies.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/71402.htm
OP
OP
dun
Well-known member
Since it only usually (that's in more or less normal years) it only lasts a week or so we just use a grubacide in the fall. Some years we don;t see any others they're plentiful. Haven't figured the little boogers out in all this time. The only place we didn;t have them was in the Mojave Desert.
dun
dun
jerry27150
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i think all they do is lay eggs near the hoof. so dust bags & sprays don't work. never heard of anything to stop them
brokenmouth
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heel flies serve one purpose. they provide entertainment for sophisticated city dwellers whilst taking a drive thru the provincial hinterlands. "o children look! madeleine, put down your preteen fashion magazine. sebastian, stop playing your nintendo for a moment. see the cute little calves frolicking in the fields. and their mommies are running and playing with them isnt that just precious. slow down frederick so the children can observe the happy animals. isnt that charming! sebastian do roll the window back up at once! the dust will blow in mummys hair. thank you dear. o see how they run and play. they are so happy"
dj
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Cattle Grub (Heel Fly)
Cattle grubs cause economic losses because they reduce milk production, weight gain, feed efficiency and hide value. Losses also are suffered with carcass trim and lower meat quality.
Cattle grubs are the larval stage of heel flies. Adult heel flies emerge in late winter, spring or summer. Female flies lay eggs on the legs and lower body regions of cattle. Heel fly activity causes cattle to run widely with tails in the air [gadding), o r to stand in water to protect themselves. Eggs attached to the hairs hatch into tiny larvae that penetrate the skin and begin to migrate through the body of the animal. Larvae congregate in the tissues of the esophagus, but eventually move to the back in later summer, fall or winter. Grubs develop with a "cyst" or "warble" just under the skin on the back. After 6 to 8 weeks, grubs leave the animal's body through holes cut in the hide, fall to the soil and pupate.
Although cattle grubs can be controlled after they reach the animal's back, earlier control is preferable. Once the grubs reach the back, most of the damage has been done.
Systemic pesticides administered as sprays, dips, pour-ons, boluses and injectables are distributed through the animal's body; systemic pesticides destroy cattle grubs by contact action. To avoid the possibility of a host-parasite reaction, cattle should be treated with systemics as soon as possible after heel fly activity ceases but not within a 6- to 7-week period prior to the expected appearance of grubs in the back. Typical host-parasite reaction symptoms include a swollen esophagus, bloat, profuse sa livation, discomfort and, in extreme cases, death. Do not confuse a host-parasite reaction with organophosphate poisoning, which is quite similar. Atropine, an antidote for OP poisoning, is NOT RECOMMENDED for a host-parasite reaction and may make the pro blem worse.
Cattle grubs cause economic losses because they reduce milk production, weight gain, feed efficiency and hide value. Losses also are suffered with carcass trim and lower meat quality.
Cattle grubs are the larval stage of heel flies. Adult heel flies emerge in late winter, spring or summer. Female flies lay eggs on the legs and lower body regions of cattle. Heel fly activity causes cattle to run widely with tails in the air [gadding), o r to stand in water to protect themselves. Eggs attached to the hairs hatch into tiny larvae that penetrate the skin and begin to migrate through the body of the animal. Larvae congregate in the tissues of the esophagus, but eventually move to the back in later summer, fall or winter. Grubs develop with a "cyst" or "warble" just under the skin on the back. After 6 to 8 weeks, grubs leave the animal's body through holes cut in the hide, fall to the soil and pupate.
Although cattle grubs can be controlled after they reach the animal's back, earlier control is preferable. Once the grubs reach the back, most of the damage has been done.
Systemic pesticides administered as sprays, dips, pour-ons, boluses and injectables are distributed through the animal's body; systemic pesticides destroy cattle grubs by contact action. To avoid the possibility of a host-parasite reaction, cattle should be treated with systemics as soon as possible after heel fly activity ceases but not within a 6- to 7-week period prior to the expected appearance of grubs in the back. Typical host-parasite reaction symptoms include a swollen esophagus, bloat, profuse sa livation, discomfort and, in extreme cases, death. Do not confuse a host-parasite reaction with organophosphate poisoning, which is quite similar. Atropine, an antidote for OP poisoning, is NOT RECOMMENDED for a host-parasite reaction and may make the pro blem worse.
milesvb
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certherfbeef":2win5poa said:
If I read that info. right then you would have to administer Ivomec once a month to every animal throughout the heel fly season to even hope for interrupting their life cycle. Is anyone actively treating their herds and targeting heel flies specifically? Results?
milesvb
Well-known member
dun":3gsrl3re said:
Wouldn't you still need repeat applications because of the residual effect wearing off? I'm not sure how long heel fly season lasts, but if they're active for as long as 3 months then wouldn't you have to apply every 30-45 days assuming a 1 month residual effectiveness? Or does the residual last longer for killing the larvae?
OP
OP
dun
Well-known member
Don't have any idea. Usually (in what passes for normal years) heel fly season only lasts a week or two and it's later in June. We use a grubacide in Aug-September at fall workup and haven't had warbles in years. I'm just baffled as to where they come from each year, unless they lay in the ground for years before maturing.
dun
dun
