Horn flies, face flies, stable flies—all of them can take a toll on cattle productivity.

Just as there’s more than one way to skin a cat, there’s a whole host of means to kill flies — ear tags, sprays, pour-ons, dust bags, oilers, larvicides.

The key, according to Kansas State University Extension Beef Specialist Karl Harborth, is to select the one that best fits your situation.

“The products are effective,” he said, “but each of them have to be administered correctly in order to be effective. Dust bags, for example, work well but only if you can set up a situation that forces the cattle to use them. That’s the case for all of these products — they have to be used right if you want to be happy with the results.”

The evidence in favor of doing something to control flies is pretty compelling, Harborth notes. University studies indicate weight losses of 10 to 20 pounds for nursing calves and a 14 percent stocker cattle weight loss over a 120-day fly period, as well as assorted health problems.

“Losses are going to vary from year to year and from one situation to another but there certainly can be a pretty significant amount of money left on the table from not making an effort to control flies,” Harborth said.

Source: Midwest City Sun

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