Sheep producers are being asked to apply blowfly strike protection early in the season to avoid strike and stop the initial wave of blowflies from reproducing, owing to reports of fly seasons beginning earlier and lasting longer.
Matt Colston, a ruminant technical consultant at Elanco Animal Health, explains that the timing and resulting severity of blowfly strike is weather dependent, with blowfly activity starting soon after soil temperatures rise above 9°C. “We’ve already seen some warm temperatures this year, causing over wintered larval stages to hatch out as adult flies in some regions,” he says.
With further warmer weather likely in the coming months, Mr Colston explains all sheep farmers must be aware of the growing risk as it is easy to get caught out. “By the time strike symptoms become visible, it’s typically too late to protect your sheep. It’s also easy to miss cases in the early stages, especially if it’s just one or two sheep affected.”
Why you should consider early protection
Protecting your flock early in the season is strongly recommended, given the considerable health, welfare, and economical concerns involved with even a single occurrence of a blowfly strike.
Mr Colston encourages farmers who have been hit with a case of blowfly strike to report it via the Blowfly Tracker: farmanimalhealth.co.uk/blowfly-tracker to help farmers and the wider industry to be better prepared.
“The benefits of early treatment with an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) such as CLiK™ are two-fold. On top of preventing blowfly strike in treated animals, the early treatment also helps stop the first wave of flies from breeding, which significantly reduces blowfly numbers and therefore the risk of strike later in the season,” says Mr Colston.
“For those looking for the longest-lasting protection, CLiK Extra™ is the best option, offering 19 weeks of cover. CLiKZiN™ on the other hand offers eight weeks’ protection and just seven days meat withdrawal, so is suitable for fat lambs that will be finished and away promptly, or to protect adult sheep pre-shearing,” he advises.
Mr Colston encourages farmers who have been hit with a case of blowfly strike to report it via the Blowfly Tracker: farmanimalhealth.co.uk/blowfly-tracker to help farmers and the wider industry to be better prepared.
