Start thinking about fly control now
Blowfly strike becomes a problem as soon as temperatures rise, so with summer on its way now is the time for sheep farmers to start planning fly control.
Nick Burford, from Elanco Animal Health, said: “The active season for green bottle - the main cause of blowfly strike in the UK - has become longer, with strike occurring earlier in the spring and continuing well into the autumn.
“This means sheep farmers must be ready to apply blowfly strike protection early on. Not only will this prevent early cases of strike, but it will stop the first wave of blowflies from breeding and lower the risk later in the season.”
Rising temperatures
Blowfly strike is weather dependent with blowfly activity starting as soon as soil temperatures rise above 9°C.
Once the soil temperature is right, any pupae in the soil will start to develop and the first wave of flies will emerge. Mr Burford said: “Farmers can easily get caught out because blowfly strike can happen very quickly.
“It can take as little as 12 hours between the eggs being laid and the damaging second stage larvae causing significant lesions in sheep.”
Early prevention is essential because by the time strike symptoms are visible, it is typically too late to protect the sheep.
Mr Burford added: “Taking early action to tackle that first wave of flies – such as promptly removing any dead stock and applying preventative treatments - will reduce blowfly numbers early and dramatically reduce the risk of fly strike for the whole season.”
Preventative treatment options
You can protect sheep from blowfly strike by applying an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) product.
“On top of preventing strike in treated animals, early application of IGRs will help stop the first wave of blowflies from breeding and reduce fly numbers later in the season,” said Mr Burford.
We have a wide range of IGR products available:
CLiK™ EXTRA
This provides the longest period of protection - up to 19 weeks - and is most suitable for early treatment of lambs kept throughout the summer, replacement breeding stock and adult sheep post-shearing. It has a 40 day meat withdrawal period.
CLiK™
This offers protection for 16 weeks and is suitable for medium-keep lambs that will stay on the farm from between six weeks and four months, or adult sheep shorn later in the season. It has a 40 day meat withdrawal period.
CLiKZiN™
This offers protection for eight weeks and is suitable for those keeping lambs short-term, or those with a high blowfly risk pre-shearing. It has a seven day meat withdrawal period.
The whole CLiK range benefits from patented FleeceBind™ technology, which allows the product to spread and bind, giving full fleece protection to minimise the risk of strike.
Application advice
IGR products need to be applied in the right amounts and in the right way, to get the best results. Mr Burford recommended farmers use the four-stroke application method.
This involves applying the required dose one quarter at a time, from mid-shoulder to the middle of the back; from the middle of the back to top of the tail; from one side of the tail to the crutch; and from the other side of the tail to the crutch.
Mr Burford added: “Ensure there is a four inch bandwidth of product applied on the animal, taking care when lambs are small because a smaller target requires greater precision.”
He also advised applying the product in a pen, rather than a race and only applying the product to clean animals.
