SRBeef":27b7q542 said:
gberry":27b7q542 said:
Anyone on these boards use wormer as their main fly control? We don't usually worm our mature cows, but last summer, we had a few that looked to need worming. I treated about 20% of the cows with generic ivermectin pour on and within 2 days, the flies were gone and stayed gone for about 6 weeks. Since then, when the flies get heavy, we treat a few of the sorrier looking cows and it seems to be working well. For those of you who like to worm your cows yearly, you could treat 25-30% of the herd at a time and control flies through the summer without any extra costs strictly for fly control. Anyone see any problem with this?
I am no expert in fly control but the dewormers are designed to be that, dewormers, for internal parasites. They are potent and have a withdrawal period. The label says the dose should be applied by weight of the animal. Randomly applying dewormer as a fly control does not seem like a good idea to me.
Another approach is to spray them with Permectrin mixed in diesel fuel. This is intended for fly control. The diesel keeps the Permectrin/permythrin (sp) on them longer than water. Watch out for fly control mixes that caution against causing blindness if get in the eyes.... Or use a rub doused with the same mix. Needs to be done frequently with rains the way they are across the north. jmho. Jim
I wouldn't recommend that method. Try dousing yourself with diesel and leave it on and see how you like it. However, used on a rubbing rope is quite all right.
Also, I doubt the "diesel keeps the permectrin/permythrin (sp) on them longer than water" rather than the diesel itself acts as a deterrent. Throw a fly in water and it will climb out and fly away. Throw one in diesel and it is dead.
I don't use the pour-on wormers as fly control, but it do use them in spring and fall as worm control.