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Flies seem much worse this year compared to last.

Last year both steers had a dozen or two flies about their face at times. Didn’t seem to bother them. This year all three have hordes on their back and flanks. Horn flies? You can tell they are bothered.

What’s the best way to address this? Larvicide and a spray or pour on?

Any recs on products?

I use Gordon's Permethrin 10 spray concentrate.

You can use it in any sort of sprayer.

Most of the time I just use it in a hand spray bottle.

Works for at least a couple weeks, depending on rain.

Gallon goes a long ways.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...nd-premise-spray?solr=1&cm_vc=-10005

+1

a permethrin spray reapplied as necessary is easy and works fine for a few head

Thanks fellas!

put fly tags on the yearlings this spring. We'll see how they do.....

Make sure to put one on each ear.
If you don't, they will just fly around in circles.

When you spray the cattle don't do it within 4-6 hours of rain.

My neighbor used ear tags a few years ago. A dismal failure but maybe they have improved them these days.

We ain’t got a chute. Doubt I’d have much luck trying to wrassle one into an earring.

Going with the spray outta a weed sprayed when they come up to feed.

Got a gate you can swing against a fence? Weve used that as a squeeze chute.

When we have done it, a rope wick with the insecticide mixed with diesel fuel helps if you can get the cattle to walk under it. The fly tags, spray all helps.

For a few head in confinement I would probably go with the spray.

My uncle use to use Tempo in a weed sprayer on the bulls he raised.



On cattle out to pasture we have found that intensive, rotational grazing and the abandonment of Ivermectin products has drastically reduced our fly populations.


We used to use fly tags and fly tubs, fly mineral and what not. Used to have to vaccinate for pink eye....the works.

Jim, what does not using Ivermectin have to do with lowering fly pop.?

I may be behind the curve here...

No gate. Just barbed wire on 2 sides and electric on 2.

Guessing the Ivermectin harms the dung beetle populations. Dung beetles can interrupt the horn fly life cycle by spreading and drying dung?

Yes. Thats right.

The intact dung pats are where the flies reproduce.

Dung beetles make these pats inhospitable to flies.

If possible, frequent moves with high stock densities will help with flies too.

Thanks.

Knew about the dung beetle thing and switched pour on wormer a couple years ago.

Good to know that's why I don't have as many flies!

Now, if we can just do something about the skeeters!

Hey Jim, how long do you think it took for the turd rollers to come back on your pastures?

I'm really interested in your grazing plan/system too, but I don't want to hijack the tread!

Once we decided to quit Ivermectin, the dung beetles came back immediately. Not in the huge numbers we see now...but they came back.

We used to treat once a year, then we started treating twice a year.....whether they needed it or not!

Honestly, the rollers are the least common beetle we have.

The dwellers and the buryiers are far more common out here. Sometimes we will find a swarm of the dwellers.

Wife just said we quit Ivermectin in the fall of 2016.

We started noticing big numbers in the fall of 2017....so a year for large numbers I guess.


We do the fecal sampling now and only treat when needed rather than yearly or twice yearly....and use Safeguard drench.


As far as grazing goes, we are limited by our water. When we can, we cut pastures into cells and graze them intensively. Trying very hard to "take half, leave half".

The frequent moves and high stock densities really help with soil health and production too. Not to mention it helps with the flies!

Generally, by the time the grass starts to come back where the cattle first grazed it.....the flies are ready for a new host. The cattle oblige by going back and cherry picking the land first grazed.


We get the big maps from the USDA and try to plan cutting the pastures into "cells, or paddocks".


It all seems to be helping.

Hell, even the horse apples in the yard dont stand a chance now a days.


After about a day, the apples are nothing but cellulose.

I worm my horses about every 4 months, and use the Ivermectin paste. It takes forever for their chit to go away, and I'm guessing it's because of the lack of dung beetles. I'd hate not to worm the horses, and I could take them to the vet and have it done, but it's so much cheaper to do it myself.

At one time, I let chickens run in the lot I keep the horses in, and horse apples didn't last long that way. Then one morning, I was eating an egg, and I swear it tasted funny, so, you can guess the rest.........no more chickens in with the horses.