Protect Your Herd Against Mastitis: Why Fly Control is a Must – Have Defense

central life sciences fly control hornfly dairy cattle

Protect Your Herd Against Mastitis: Why Fly Control is a Must-Have Defense

Every dairy producer understands the devastating impact mastitis can have on milk production, herd health, and the bottom line. Mastitis remains one of the costliest diseases in the dairy industry, and while many associate it with the bacteria responsible, the role of flies is overlooked. House flies and horn flies are active transmitters of the bacteria that cause mastitis and a host of other diseases.

Without a robust fly management strategy in place, fly populations can explode, increasing the risk of infection, inflammation, and long-term udder damage. Fortunately, proactive measures can reduce these risks significantly, preserving herd health and improving overall profitability.

Meet the House Fly

The house fly (Musca domestica) is a common pest on dairy operations. Drawn to animal waste, decaying matter, and feed, house flies thrive on farms. Females lay up to 150 eggs at a time, in decaying organic matter, and with optimal temperatures and conditions, a new generation can mature in as little as 7 to 10 days. That means a few flies today can become thousands within weeks.

How to Identify House Flies:

  • Non-metallic, dull grayish color
  • Four distinct black stripes on the thorax
  • Pale yellowish abdomen

House flies can spread more than 65 different disease-causing organisms. Their sponging mouthparts enable them to pick up pathogens from contaminated surfaces and deposit them onto cow teats, feed, or open wounds. One of the most serious outcomes of this transmission is mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland that can lead to the destruction of milk-producing tissues.

Meet the Horn Fly

While house flies pose a significant risk, horn flies (Haematobia irritans) bring their own set of problems. These blood-feeding pests are often found clustered on the backs, shoulders, and around the udders of dairy cattle with access to pasture. Unlike house flies, horn flies only develop in fresh cattle manure that remains undisturbed. Horn flies are blood feeders, piercing the skin and taking 20 to 40 blood meals per day, causing constant stress and irritation. As few as 50 horn flies per cow can impact milk production and gains of developing heifers on pasture.

How to Identify Horn Flies:

  • Smaller than house flies
  • Gray body with two stripes on the thorax
  • Typically found on the animal
  • Cause tail swishing and bunching behavior in cattle

The feeding behavior of horn flies makes them a direct threat to udder health. As they bite and irritate the teats, small scabs form, creating entry points for bacteria, most notably Staphylococcus aureus, the primary cause of heifer mastitis. These flies can then carry the bacteria from cow to cow, effectively turning your pasture or barn into a breeding ground for mastitis outbreaks.

The Hidden Threat: Mastitis in Heifers

Many producers assume mastitis is an issue primarily affecting lactating cows. However, research shows that even pre-fresh heifers are not immune. Dr. Stephen C. Nickerson, a leading researcher at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reports that 75% of heifers show signs of teat or udder infection before they calve, with flies responsible for approximately 50% of those infections.

When heifer mastitis strikes, it often goes unnoticed until they enter the milking herd with blind quarters—non-functional teats that can never produce milk. This not only limits productivity but also increases culling rates and long-term economic losses.

The Impact of Blind Quarters:

  • Decrease in total milk production
  • Increased risk of culling early in a cow’s productive life
  • Long-term financial impact from lost yield

Notably, front quarters tend to be most affected, as flies can feed longer without being swatted by the tail, increasing exposure to irritation and infection.

How Flies Spread Mastitis

Let’s break down the mechanics of how flies contribute to mastitis:

  1. Teat Irritation: Horn flies target the teats, feeding on blood vessels in the skin. This repeated biting causes inflammation and scabbing.
  2. Bacterial Incubation: Scabs eventually develop where the bacteria that cause mastitis (Staphylococcus aureus) can incubate.
  3. Bacterial Transmission: As flies move from animal to animal, they carry the bacteria on their mouthparts and body surfaces.
  4. Infection: The bacteria enter the teat orifice and move upward into the udder quarter, where they destroy milk-producing tissues.

Once established, mastitis can be challenging to treat. And once the milk-producing tissues are destroyed, there’s no way to recover that lost potential. This is why prevention through fly control is one of the most effective long-term solutions.

How ClariFly® Larvicide Works:

Unlike traditional insecticides that target adult flies, ClariFly® Larvicide works at the larval stage, interrupting development and preventing the larvae from becoming reproductive adults. Once mixed into feed, ClariFly® Larvicide passes through the animal’s digestive system unchanged and is excreted in the manure. Treating the potential larval development without any extra time or labor.

For the most complete control of flies on a dairy operation, the use of a feed-through larvicide such as ClariFly® Larvicide should be complemented with a complete Integrated Pest Management program to control both larvae developing in manure and adults from other development areas on the farm.

Boost Your Fly Control Efforts with an IPM Strategy

To protect the well-being of their cattle and avoid lost production, dairy operators should implement a thorough Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program to combat nuisance flies. The key component to start any IPM program is the initial Planning phase, which includes the identification of problem pests, understanding their habits, and devising a management strategy. Once the target pests have been identified, a successful IPM strategy must advance to the Implementation phase, approaching pest control through several complementary methods.

To have a comprehensive program, one should include several of the following tactics:

  • Improve cultural practices to reduce fly resting, feeding, and breeding sites through regular cleaning and upkeep of facilities and surrounding vegetation.
  • Leverage the natural fly predators and parasites, such as parasitic wasps, as well as other beneficials like dung beetles, to destroy eggs that have been laid in manure and other organic matter on the dairy.
  • Incorporate various physical techniques, like fly traps and sticky tapes, to help monitor the amount of fly activity and the effectiveness of fly control methods
  • Use sprays or baits to control adult flies.
  • Utilize biorational options, including feed-through larvicides such as ClariFly® Larvicide, to keep larvae from developing in treated manure and emerging as adult flies.

The “cultural” component of an IPM program can have the greatest impact on fly management on a dairy and can limit the need for pesticide applications. Some entomologists have estimated that fly numbers can be reduced by as much as 75% through properly maintaining dairy facilities and removing fly feeding and breeding sites. For best results, operators should be practicing proper manure management techniques and concentrating on keeping typical problem areas well-maintained.

The final step of the IPM program is Evaluation, where progress is documented with a concise record of locations, conditions and actions taken. This will help dairy operators better understand what efforts proved to be the most effective and better plan pest management efforts moving forward.

Complete Herd Coverage is Key

For complete control, it is important to treat your entire herd. ClariFly® Larvicide is approved for all stages of life, from calves to lactating cows. As part of an IPM program, including ClariFly® Larvicide in the calf starter as well as ClariFly® Add-Pack offered in milk, helps reduce fly populations developing in manure in calf environments, giving them the protection and comfort they need from the very start.

Protecting Your Herd and Your Profits

Mastitis may be one of the most serious diseases in the dairy industry, but it’s also one of the most preventable. By recognizing the role flies play in the spread of mastitis and implementing an integrated approach that includes feed-through control like ClariFly® Larvicide, producers can protect their herds from costly infections and lost milk production.

Interested in learning more about how ClariFly® Larvicide can be part of your mastitis prevention plan? Visit CentralFlyControl.com or talk to your local feed representative today.

 

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