Sudden extinction of horn flies

[TexasJerseyMilker]

I've been using a dust bag over a gate my cows must walk though with 'Insectrin' dust in it. Still had rafts of hornflies on my cows. Yesterday I wormed them with Ivermectin Pour on. There is a shocking absence of flies on the cows. I know it's temporary.

My Texas retired rancher husband says in his experience they will be horn fly free for about 10 days or a week, although the literature says 28 days. This must be because everything is bigger in Texas, and everything is better (or worse) in Texas.

 

[4hfarms]

I use Ivermectin for worms when they need it. Yes it helps but the hornfly always return. The best I found to keep them at bay was the permectrin in a squirt bottle. Not as toxic as ivo and can use it more often. Cheaper too!

 

[SBMF 2015]

Long Range wormer doesn’t touch the parasites here but it will keep the pasture fly free for about three months.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

I've been using this "Insectrin" (permethrin) powder in the rub bag with little effect. I don't want to have to milk a cow with rafts of biting flies on her so I got this permethrin ProZap outfit from ValleyVet. Still rafts of flies.

There is the Stand Guard product that people like here. It says for beef cattle do not apply to dairy cattle. I know that oftentimes when a product is labeled that way it is either because research has been done that shows it does harmful things to other breeds or species or because NO RESEARCH has been done except on beef cattle. I contacted the scientists at NeoGen and yes it is because they did not test it on dairy stock. So I am going to try it on my dairy cows. This is known as off label use.

Long Range wormer doesn't touch the parasites here but it will keep the pasture fly free for about three months.

But not in Texas according to my husband. Because everything is bigger and better (or worse) in Texas

 

[M.Magis]

Why not just use a pour on that is labeled for lactacting dairy cows, like UltraBoss?

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

It's also permethrin. I've used it before. It wore off in a few days. But that was in Texas where everything (including the flies) is bigger and tougher. So I looked up both. UltraBoss is applied every 2 weeks but NOT MORE THAN 4 TIMES IN SIX MONTHS. Hmmmmmm. . . . Also it costs $57.00 a quart and UltraBoss costs$44 a quart.

 

[bird dog]

I would think that the Long Range Wormer would also knock out your dung beetles.

 

[wbvs58]

I would think that the Long Range Wormer would also knock out your dung beetles.

Yep, I'd be worried about my dung beetles.

Ken

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Unfortunately, we do not have dung beetles in Oregon. How I miss those bug tussles.
But we sure have a lot dung going down in the state capital I wish could be rolled away.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I would think that the Long Range Wormer would also knock out your dung beetles.

I’ve never seen any here. I have a friend who has switched to all natural organic farming. He claims he has pics of them on his farm but has never showed me.

 

[Brute 23]

This year has horrible for everything here. We are going place by place right now just spraying cattle because the ticks, lice, flies, mosquitoes, etc are BAD. Most of the time we run like UltraBoss one time early in the year then keep the bags out with powder and we are fine. This year the flies weren't bad with the bags but the but the ticks and lice were getting bad. We have to soak the cows for that.

Have you tried a different powder brand? I've tried a few and Python was decent but I really like Co-Ral products. They have a dust that I have switched to now, also. The liquid is what we soak cattle with. They also use the liquid for dipping cattle when you have tick inspectors out.

As a comparison though, I had penned that rowdy cow a couple weeks ago and it went to raining. I couldn't get her out so she stayed in the pens. I forgot to move the fly bag out to a tree or some thing so the cattle there hadn't been using one for the last 2-3 weeks. It was by far the worse place. It was kind of a reminder the bags are not a silver bullet, but it is far worse with out them.

 

[Farmgirl]

Using xp820 fly tags and Clarifly salt blocks this summer. Hardly a fly to be found. Still had some before fly tags. When fly tags went in flys were gone! Nearly 2 months ago.