Know the flies affecting your cattle's productivity.

IMPACT: The house fly, Musca domestica

• The most common of all insects and toughest to repel. [More]
• While house flies do not suck or bite, they do spread disease. [More]
• They breed prolifically in manure and other organic material. [More]
• House fly populations recover quickly from spot fly control treatments. [More]

 

 

 

 

IMPACT: The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans

• Stable flies are considered by some as the most serious insect pest affecting feedlot and confined dairy cattle in the U.S. during summer months.¹ [More]
• The stable fly has one of the most painful bites of any bloodsucking insect. Its jagged, piercing mouthparts saw into flesh and draw blood. [More]
• This obligate blood-feeder mainly bites the legs and flanks of cattle and is active only during the day. [More]
• This fly is also known to carry disease. [More]

 

 

 

IMPACT: The horn fly, Haematobia irritans

• The horn fly is an obligate, bloodsucking parasite that affects range cattle in the United States. [More]
• The economic losses from horn flies cost the North American cattle industry over $1 billion per year.² These losses can be attributed to reduced weight gains, decreased feed efficiency and decreased milk yields caused by loss of blood and excessive energy expenditure to dislodge the flies. [More]
• Based upon studies evaluating these production losses, the generally accepted economic threshold for infestations of horn flies is 200 flies per animal.³ When adult horn fly counts reach this level, it is generally considered economically advantageous to begin a control program. [More]

 

1. ¹ McNeal & Campbell (©1981)
2. ² http://www.csress.usda.gov/nea/biotech/pdf/highlights_2002_no3.pdf
3. ³ Mwangala, F.S., Galloway, T.D., 1993, Susceptibility of horn flies, Haematobia
      irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) to pyrethroids in Manitoba, Can., Entomol.
      125: 47-53.