How Do You Control Flies in a Cattle Barn?
Flies love manure. For one thing, it smells delicious to them, because they feed on it. It also contains various substances like bacteria, fats, proteins, fiber cellulose, and minerals that are nutritious for flies. As well, manure also serves as a safe place for stable flies and house flies to lay their eggs. For flies, manure is a nutritious meal and a nursery all in one!
There is a lot of manure around cows, particularly in your barn. Flies may like your cows, but your cows certainly don't like flies. By looking at the information above, you may think it is simply impossible to do anything about the amount of flies in your barn, but it is not! It is possible to control flies in a barn and we'll tell you how to do so with the best fly control on the market.
Table of Contents
- Why Flies are Around Manure
- Cattle Barn Fly Control Made Easy
Why Flies Are Around Manure
Some of the things we find gross and smelly are actually attractive to a fly. Flies are attracted to the dung of larger organisms, like cattle, humans, cats, dogs, and other larger vertebrates. They find its smell delicious and feed on it. Flies cannot chew, and so they "slurp" the liquid. As such, they can only feed on soft and moist material.
That's only the beginning, though. The adult female fly lays eggs in manure. This is why proper fly control is so essential. Manure not only attracts flies, it also allows flies to reproduce. Flies spend much of their life in manure. The eggs hatch into tiny maggots, which feed on the manure. These maggots molt several times to larger stages, all while in the manure. When maggots reach maturity, they pupate, and later emerge from the manure as adults who are ready to begin the fly lifecycle all over again.
Cattle Barn Fly Control Made Easy
Speaking of cycle, wouldn't it be great if you could simply break it? With the right cattle feed-through, you can! The best fly control for cattle is JustiFLY.
JustiFLY is the most convenient, inexpensive fly control on the market. This product is an insect growth regulator (IGR) larvicide. Your cattle eat the mixture as feed, and it goes through their system. Eventually, it passes through the cow and sits in the field as manure. When flies try to lay eggs in the cow's dung, the insect growth regulator (IGR) larvicide prevents this. This breaks the life cycle, making female flies unable to lay eggs in the manure of the cows who have eaten it.
Mix one add pack with one 50-lb. bag of free-choice minerals. Simply place the mixture in feeders close to water and/or resting areas. We recommend you use one feeder for 15 to 20 head of cattle. When your manure is not a suitable place for fly larva to develop, it stops their ability to breed and grow.