Maximizing Cattle Health: Effective Fly Control Strategies

1. Fly Control for Cattle Justin Talley Ph.D. Extension Livestock Entomologist justin.talley@okstate.edu 405-744-9420

2. External Parasite Control Estimated Economic Losses in U.S. Cattle Due to Arthropods Horn Flies $1.36 billion Stable Flies $672 million Horse Flies $296 million Face Flies $191 million Ticks $162 million Mosquitoes $78 million Lice $59 million Based on Kunz et al 1991 and adjusted for inflation rates

3. Blood Sucking Flies • Horn flies (Haematobiairritans) • Stable flies (Stomoxyscalcitrans) • Horse and Deer flies (Tabanus spp.)

4. How is Revenue Damaged? • Irritation • Blood loss • Less efficient use of forage • Diminished milk production • Reduced weight gains • Treatment of disease transmission

5. Update on Horn Fly Research • Horn fly association reveals that heavier animals ( Breijo et al . 2014 ) as well as males and darker cattle are more susceptible to horn flies (Rodriguez-Gallegos and Acosta-Rodriguez 2011 ).

6. How does a fly find a cow? • Long Range Cues • Carbon dioxide • 1,8-octenol • Breath smells • Sweat smells • Short range cues • Visual contrast/color • Heat • Skin secretions

7. How does a fly find a cow? Why do horseflies need polarization vision for host detection? Polarization helps tabanid flies to select sunlit dark host animals from the dark patches of the visual environment, Volume: 4, Issue: 11, DOI: (10.1098/rsos.170735) Horvath et al. Royal Soc. Open Science

8. Horn Fly Control Options Fly tags in OK: Provide approximately 90-100 days of control. • Insecticides: • Pyrethroid • Organophosphate • Macrocyclic Lactone/Abamectin • Ear tags • Pour On’s • Sprays • Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) • Cattle Rubs

9. Horn Fly Insecticide Resistance Management EACH YEAR! Tag Removal in fall

10. IGR Map Consumption is KEY!!!!

11. 100+ Flies 145

12. 500+ Flies 536

13. Managing Mastitis in Bred Heifers S.C. Nickerson, UGA, scn@uga.edu

14. Cost Comparison

15. Update on Horn Fly

16. Tri-Zap Tagged at Different Times (Alfalfa Co.)

17. Tri-Zap Tagged at Different Times (Alfalfa Co.)

18. Horn Fly Trial in Stillwater, OK 2018

19. Horn Fly Trial in Stillwater, OK 2018

20. Noble County Fly Demonstration Supplemental Slides for Noble County Meeting 2/26/19

25. Target Consumption : 3-4 oz./day

27. Noble Co. Fly Trial 2018

28. Noble Co. Fly Trial 2018

29. Profitability of Insecticides for Control of Horn Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) in Stocker Cattle Objectives: • determine whether an insecticide tag (Corathon) and an injectable dewormer (LongRange) would control horn flies better than the control group • determine the profitability a producer of stocker animals could expect to achieve by using either of these insecticides relative to a control group.

30. Experimental Design

31. 2016 KSU Beef Stocker Unit Horn Fly Study:Efficacy for controlling horn flies in stockers

32. Effect of Horn fly treatment on ADG of stocker cattle

33. Additional Revenue and Net Profit from Treatments Compared to Control Group: Price Slide Calculated from Averages of Observed Prices from 2010-2018

34. Additional Revenue and Net Profit from Treatments Compared to Control Group: Price Slide 50% Steeper than previous table

35. Additional Revenue and Net Profit from Treatments Compared to Control Group: Price Slide 50% Less Steep than first table

36. Conclusions • Comparing value of gains with costs, animals receiving the Corathontreatment gained an average of 18.91 lbs/head (0.2101 lb. x 90 days), or 8.58 kg/head, and additional profit from the application of Corathonis estimated at $16.79-$4.75-$0.21=$11.83/head. • Animals receiving the LongRangetreatment gained an average of 22.55 lbs/head (0.2506 x 90 days), or 10.23 kg/head, and additional profit from the application of LongRangewas estimated at $20.02-$10.00-$0.07=$9.95/head. • Although use of LongRangeachieved a greater reduction of horn flies, and a greater increase in pounds of gain, its additional profit is a little bit lower than that of Corathon.

37. 314

38. Stable fly Pathogens transmitted Bacillus anthracis Dermatophiluscongolensis Anaplasmamarginale Besnoitiabesnoiti Life cycle • Preferred breeding habitat is decaying organic matter • Minimum time to complete life cycle is 12 days • Commonly associated with cattle and horses but will feed on other livestock • Usually always found feeding on the legs of animals Distribution This fly can be found worldwide and is commonly associated with domestic livestock. Stomoxyscalcitrans Stable fly An important point about this pest Cattle will exhibit fly avoidance behaviours such as bunching or standing in water to avoid this fly’s painful bites. Commonly found with Haematobia irritans irritans(horn fly) Musca autumnalis(face fly) Musca domestica(house fly) Tabanidae (horse and deer flies) Various ticks

39. Horse and Deer Flies • Horse and Deer flies are often referred to as tabanids • Only females feed on cattle • Occasional pest but when outbreaks occur they can cause significant losses • Proven mechanical vector of anaplasmosis • Most difficult fly pest to control since only the females spend a few minutes on cattle and the remainder of their life cycle is spent off the host • Most successful technique of control is herd management by locating cattle away from tabanidbreeding habitats and wooded areas

41. Mechanical Vectors of Anaplasmosis Horse flies and deer flies are considered an important mechanical vector of Anaplasma Stable flies have been shown to be a mechanical vector of Anaplasma

42. Rx Fire Why Burn? Livestock Production Parasite control

43. Take Home for Fly Control • Horn flies are usually the biggest fly pest associated with summer grazing cattle • Ear tags demonstrated additional profit from the application and was estimated at $11.83/head. • Costs can add up if re-application of product is required to manage fly populations

44. VetPestX

45. Questions www.livestockbugs.okstate.edu