Flies around livestock aren’t just a nuisance; they directly impact the health and productivity of sheep and goats. Stable flies and house flies cause pain through biting, spread diseases, and stress animals, leading to decreased feed intake and slower growth. A proactive, integrated pest management (IPM) approach is essential to protect sheep and goats, improve their health, and boost productivity.

Key Benefits of Fly Control for Sheep and Goats

1. Prevent Painful Bites Stable flies are known for their painful bites, targeting the legs and flanks of livestock. This not only stresses animals but also reduces their feed intake and growth rates, affecting their overall performance and conversion of feed into body mass. If you notice your animals bunching together, it’s often a sign that stable fly bites have reached uncomfortable levels, negatively impacting productivity.
2. Reduce Disease Spread House flies can transmit over 65 different disease organisms, posing health risks to both animals and farm workers. In addition, flies can spread bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, a primary cause of mastitis in sheep and goats. Mastitis affects milk production, reducing the quantity and quality of milk and impacting the weight gain and growth of animals. Managing fly populations is vital to maintaining a healthy environment.
3. Protect the Community and Environment Without intervention, fly populations can grow rapidly, spreading to neighboring farms and residential areas. Effective fly management not only protects livestock and prevents disease spread but also upholds good relations with neighbors and reduces the risk of complaints.
4. Maintain Milk Quality and Quantity For operations involving milk production, protecting against mastitis-causing bacteria like Staph. aureus is crucial. By controlling flies, farmers can prevent mastitis, sustain milk productivity, and support profitability.

Recommended Starbar^® Products for Effective Fly Control

• Cattle Armor™ 1% Synergized Pour On: This pour-on product helps control flies and lice on cows but is also useful for sheep and goats. It can be applied as a spray mist or on a back rubber in pastures and feedlots, making it a flexible solution for managing flies directly on the animals.
• ClariFly^® Larvicide Top-Dress Fly Control: ClariFly^® Larvicide Top-Dress Fly Control helps prevent the emergence of adult house flies, stable flies, face flies, and horn flies from manure of treated beef and dairy cattle, breeding stock, and show animals. This top-dress supplement also prevents the emergence of house flies and stable flies from the manure of treated sheep, goats, equine, and swine.

Building an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program

Using ClariFly^® Larvicide as part of a broader IPM program is essential for maximum effectiveness. An IPM approach combines several practices, such as:

• Sanitation: Regular cleaning and manure management reduce fly breeding habitats.
• Physical Controls: Using traps and baits, such as those from the Starbar^® line, to catch adult flies and reduce their populations.
• Structural Maintenance: Repairing and maintaining farm structures prevents flies from accessing breeding sites.
• Routine Animal Care: Shearing, clipping, and keeping animals clean further reduce fly attraction.

With an effective IPM program that includes ClariFly^® Larvicide and other Starbar^® products, you can significantly reduce fly populations, improve feed efficiency, and support better growth rates. This proactive fly management approach will help ensure the health and comfort of your livestock, ultimately benefiting the productivity and profitability of your operation.