Time for Flies

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SWMO

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Jul 27, 2007
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715
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Carthage MO
What is working best for everyone this year on fly control.  Both in the barn and on the cattle?

We fog our barn every couple of days.  But the real control just isn't there.  Horse flys are having a really great year because of all the moisture.  When we walk the calves my daughters Sr Yearling heifer will come in the barn and refuse to leave.  She must be especially tender skinned.  (or she's been babied toooooo looong!) :D
 

shortyjock89

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Mar 6, 2007
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4,465
Location
IL
In the barn, we hang fly traps, the bag kind.  We replace them a couple times every summer, and they really help keep the flies down.  We also keep the pens as clean as possible.  For the calves, we use SWAT from Sullivan's, or another aerosol spray that we get from like Rural King or something.  We used to use stuff like Bronco II, but it is too hard on the hair, and it STINKS.  My cousin, who is in to horses pretty big, says that a few drops of dishsoap added into the Kleen Sheen will keep the flies away too...haven't tried it yet, but we might if they get pretty bad.
 

red

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Jan 20, 2007
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7,850
Location
LaRue, Ohio
we put out the predator wasps in the manure. Have noticed a huge difference.

Red
 

BCCC

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Jan 6, 2008
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2,087
Location
Hillsboro, TX
I am trying the predator wasps at my pigs pens, an di havent noticed a bit of diifernce. since i have put them out i have seen more flys around....
 

Malinda

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Feb 16, 2007
Messages
160
For the cows/calves on pasture, I put out Rabon blocks about 30 days before I ever see a fly. It does not cut down on current fly populations, but passes thru the cow's gut into the manure and prevents the fly eggs in manure from hatching.

For current flies, I use Ultra Boss pour on insecticide. I put on an initial dose as soon as I see a fly and then repeat in two weeks. After that, I just reapply as needed.

Inside the barns I spray Permethrin as needed.

For the show cattle, I use Dairy Aerosol N. Getting hard to find but anything that says it is for dairy barns seems to work very well. Clean stalls, darkness in the barn and fans also keep the pesky little critters at bay.

This may sound crazy, but I notice that on the days my neighbor puts his cows in his pasture that joins mine, and the cows come in close contact, my cows come back to the barn with more flies. So, another fly control might be not having the neighbor's cows coming into contact with yours! You can pick your friends, but not your neighbors.

Good luck with your fly control. Flies sure cost us a lot of money and time!

Malinda
 

BIGTEX

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May 7, 2008
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1,091
Location
North Texas
Ultra Boss works great! I just got thier new product called Ultra Saber, you only have to use 15ml instead of 30ml.
 

BRdoc

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Mar 10, 2008
Messages
159
Location
Oklahoma
I used Avenger fly tags for the first time this year. They are working great. My cows have less flies than ever before. You have to put one in each ear. Calves get just one tag. Used every other tag in the past, with no results. Avenger just came out last year.
 

racekannon

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Mar 7, 2008
Messages
63
The new stuff from Bayer that is a fly bait like Golden Marlin is great.  I sprinkle it in the barn ally and feed room and the flies are dead immediately an inch thick.  It is expensive but I have never seen anything work so well.  Spraying the field cattle with permectin is useless anymore, anyone got anything that works in a 25 gal sprayer that doesn't cost an arm or leg.
 

tackes

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Jul 5, 2007
Messages
26
Location
SouthWest Wisconsin
Perhaps you could try something more natural? I don't know how good this works but pennyroyal has been rumored to be quite effective. Here's the website:
http://ecobites.com/herbal-natural-remedies/natural-animal-fly-repellent.html

I have an email out to my naturopathic doctor, as I'm looking for something less "chemically" for my steer.

In any case, its worth a try.
 

red

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Jan 20, 2007
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LaRue, Ohio
the predator wasps work very well for us. You need to keep adding them.

Red
 

M Bar

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May 21, 2008
Messages
134
Horn fly control in grazing cattle can be aided with the use of a mineral with MTH, or methoprene.  These are generally added into a mineral and called IGR's.  IGR stands for intake growth regulators.  The IGR's break the cycle of the fly, whereas the second hatch of flies after IGR's are introduced in the cow's mineral will never make it to the adult stage to reproduce.  In laymen's terms, it is birth control for flies.  Most commercial feed manufacturers offer a product line with MTH included in the mineral.  The cost is minimal, when you consider the amount of time your cattle are standing together, swatting flies off of each other, intead of foraging for grass.  Purina Mills offers are large line of "wind and rain" minerals that are specific for your needs, such as fescue type minerals and lower phos/cal ratios for areas that have land applied chicken manure.  You can also get these with CTC (chloratetracycline) levels for pinkeye, footrot, and potential anaplasmosis control.  When considered on a cost per head per day vs. fly tags, time to spray cattle, equipment necessary to spray, and potential pinkeye/ footrot problems. it is a very inexpensive piece of arsenol to have.  You can feed this to "show" cattle as well through a mineral feeder, or dumping a little in a pan in their pens seperate from their feed.  We put about a coffee can out in the cement bunks for the few calves that are at the house, then put more out when they ear it, and put out loose mineral in the pastures for the cattle.  There is no withdraw time for MTH, or an identified LD50 (it's pretty safe).  The product that we use is a complete, where no added salt is necessary, so it's simple, which I dig. 
 

garybob

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Feb 4, 2007
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1,634
Location
NW Arkansas
MBar,
Glad to see another Shorthorn Breeder ( I used to be one, from '97 to '06 ) with good, slick-haired, dark-colored Shorthorn Cattle.

What affect does an IGR (insect growth regulator) have on dung beetles? They do more to control Horn Flies than anything else God created.

GB

 

M Bar

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Joined
May 21, 2008
Messages
134
This is from the Wellmark International website


Residual insecticides, such as organophosphates, are toxic to beneficial insects, such as coprophagous flies and beetles, predaceous beetles, parasitic wasps and dung beetles. Altosid® IGR does not disrupt dung composition and does not harm beneficial insects
 

inthebarnagain

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Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
613
Location
Indiana
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract in a pint of water in a spray bottle works wonders on the show calves.  Flies cannot stand the smell of vanilla and it won't hurt the hair or skin. 
 
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