Agricultural News
Vet Specialist AJ Tarpoff Offers Advice on Successfully Managing Peak Season Horn Fly Populations
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 16:31:41 CDT
When it comes to Horn flies, it is all about the season and we are just weeks away from starting Round #2 this year. According to Extension Veterinary Specialist A.J. Tarpoff of Kansas State University, over the course of a typical year there are two seasons in which Horn fly populations tend to peak. He says those seasons generally occur in the Spring and late summer.
"We're talking, coming up here pretty quick, late August - early September, when the temperatures start to go down, the humidity starts to rise a little bit," he said. "It's prime time for another peak in Horn fly population."
Tarpoff says as this subsequent wave of Horn flies approaches, it is important to have a plan in mind to control the population of these bloodsucking pests. He recommends considering what you have already done, during the Spring peak, and switch up your mode of action with a different application as well as a different chemical class. By doing this, he says you will stop flies from building up a resistance to your preferred control methods.
For instance, suppose you tagged your cattle earlier in the year with insecticide laced eartags.
"As those fly tags start to wane, the flies are still exposed to that chemical, but it's not killing them. That's when resistance can happen," he said. "So, we pull that tag that's already been spent and then we can use a spot or a spray treatment. We're protecting our chemicals to continue working into the next year."
Listen to more of Extension Veterinary Specialist A.J. Tarpoff's advice on properly treating cattle for peak Horn fly seasons, with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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