Fly Control Around Cattle Feeding Facilitie
Some tips for controlling flies near cattle feeding areas.
By: Steve Boyles, Ohio State University, Extension Beef Specialist
Around concentrated animal feeding areas, major fly breeding/resting areas have a lot to do with EDGES!
* Fence lines where manure mixed with wet soil accumulates
* The edge of feeding aprons where moisture and manure accumulate
* Edges of potholes, in pen corners, and around gates;
* Along pen drainage channels or edges of holding ponds
* Wet areas around water troughs
* Underneath feed bunks were stale feed accumulates
* The bottom side of fence boards
* In corners of feed bunks where stale feed accumulates
* Manure accumulation under fences/facilities in corral/animal handling areas
* Edges of stored manure and silage.
* Edges around hay storage and damp areas under bales.
* The edge between dark and light are good resting areas (1/2 way in a barn, underneath fences)
These are places can be a focus of sanitation and/or pesticides. Flies cannot develop in dry materials.
* Use clean gravel and other fill to eliminate low spots in feedlots and dry lot areas.
* Proper tiling can reduce wet barnyards.
* Cut weeds and control excessive plant growth around facilities. This will also reduce odor problems
* Wet Feeds: Various flies (e.g. stable fly) can develop in plant material, such as old silage in and around feed troughs and trench silos.
* Don't provide them crop residues, discarded in piles during and after harvest Spread this material thinly for quick drying.
* Uneaten hay where animals are fed in the fields provides fly breeding areas.
* Uneaten grain in or around feed troughs (poor bunk management) or storage bins should be cleaned up on a regular basis.
