More Than Just Fly Control.

 Article and photos courtesy of Central Life Sciences.

 Controlling nuisance insects can be difficult without the right products and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. Over the years, the Central Life Sciences product lineup has grown to feature additional products that can do more to fight flies, fire ants, cockroaches and other labeled pests that can affect your operation. With a wide variety of solutions, we have the right products to help fight threatening insects found on your operation.

Flies
Flies on operations are more than a nuisance. They can seriously impact the productivity and bottom line of an operation without an effective fly control strategy in place. It is important to manage diseases spread by flies by using various fly traps, fly baits and on-animal treatments to control fly populations on farms. For example, with flies on dairy operations, the main concern is house flies, stable flies, face flies and horn flies. House flies alone can transmit more than 65 disease-causing organisms and can contribute to salmonella, mastitis, and pinkeye among your cattle.

ClariFly^® Larvicide and Altosid^® IGR from Central Life Sciences provide producers with protection against the damaging impact of flies. The products don’t have a direct effect on production but provide control for the nuisance flies that do. Both product lines are mixed into cattle feed and passed through the cow’s digestive system and into manure where they interrupt the life cycle of the fly, preventing development into the adult stage. The active ingredient in each provides target-specific modes of action that are not harmful to birds, fish, reptiles, mammals or beneficial insects.

When proper fly control isn’t in place, your animals can become stressed and uncomfortable, ultimately lowering overall productivity and profitability. By implementing an IPM program with Starbar^®, ClariFly^® Larvicide and Altosid^® IGR products, you can protect your operation from costly fly infestations.

Cockroaches
Often overlooked on livestock and agricultural operations, cockroaches pose a real threat to your cattle, employees and bottom line. From contaminating food and spreading disease, cockroach control should be a focal point for every operation regardless of size. Cockroaches can spread a range of diseases, acting as both a reservoir and mechanical vector. Transmission of these diseases includes inhalation, digestion, and cross-contamination. Not only does this affect humans, but it also affects cattle. Some of the diseases and bacteria cockroaches spread include sarcocystosis, salmonella and listeriosis.

Sarcocystosis is a disease often found in cattle, and they can get this disease through ingestion after their food is contaminated by cockroaches. Signs of illness in cattle may include weakness, muscle spasms, weight loss, abortions and possibly death. Salmonella can cause a wide range of clinical signs in cattle, such as joint infections, abortion dysentery, chronic pneumonia and sudden death. This disease is also commonly transmitted to animals by contamination of feed and water but can be found anywhere, such as in animal bedding, gates and pens. Listeriosis is a bacterial infection of the brain that affects the nervous system leading to other problems such as stillbirths, abortion and encephalitis.

Products such as Cyanarox^® Insecticidal Bait and Exhalt™ WDG Insect Growth Regulator from Starbar allow you to protect your operation from the dangerous and costly effects of cockroaches.

Fire Ants
Fire ant infestations can irritate your cattle causing reduced weight gains and injuries. Even more concerning, stings from fire ants can harm or even kill livestock, especially the young. When fire ants settle into pastures, they often forage for food or moisture in the same areas where livestock graze, according to NC State Extension Publications. Fire ant control is critical to the protection of workers, livestock and your overall bottom line.

Extinguish^® Plus is the best answer to any fire ant problems on your operation. Extinguish^® Plus combines the killing power of an adulticide, Hydramethylnon, and the long-lasting control of the insect growth regulator (IGR), (S)-methoprene, to deliver short-term and long-term control of fire ants. Extinguish^® Plus is approved for use where cattle graze with no worries about withdrawal periods.

With Extinguish^® Plus by your side, you’ll start to see fire ant colonies dwindle in about one week. And the entire colony could be eliminated within as little as two weeks.

Ticks
Ticks are a nuisance to cattle, humans and your operation. Ticks are known to transmit numerous protozoan, viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens and can cause injuries from the blood loss that can occur when many ticks feed. Cattle tick infestations severely affect productivity and can cause disease and death due to anemia from blood loss. Getting ahead of application early in the season can reduce the number of ticks in the spring. Starbar^® products such as Prolate/Lintox HD™, Starbar^® E-Pro Adulticide Spray and Pyronyl™ Crop Spray can provide effective treatment of ticks.

Lice
Lice can cause intense irritation and affect the appearance of livestock due to rubbing and scratching. Many lice species affect cattle, but the main ones are either biting or sucking lice. Biting lice feed on skin debris while sucking lice suck blood and can cause anemia if infestations are heavy enough. By killing listed parasitic flies and controlling lice, Inhibidor™ Insecticidal Pour-On can enable more efficient production by keeping your animals comfortable, while protecting your bottom line. Other products for lice control include Cattle Armor™ 1% Synergized Pour On, Starbar^® UL-100 EC Insecticidal Spray, Prolate/Lintox HD™, Starbar^® E-Pro Adulticide Spray and Pyronyl™ Crop Spray.

Central Life Sciences understands the detrimental losses that these insects pose for cattle, employees and your bottom line. With products scientifically tailored to insect behavior at pinpoint locations, our Starbar^®, ClariFly^® Larvicide and Altosid^® IGR products can help you keep your cattle healthy and comfortable all season long.   

Altosid, Cattle Armor, ClariFly, Cyanarox, Exhalt, Extinguish, Inhibidor, Prolate/Lintox HD, Pyronyl, and Starbar are trademarks of Wellmark International.