With another big blowfly season ahead of us, blowfly prevention product use is going to once again be heavily relied upon.
Many producers are now reporting the need for more than one product application to get them through a season. “Given the increased frequency of multiple blowfly prevention applications in the same season, conversations on chemical rotation within a season are critical,” says Dr Claire Hunt, technical services veterinarian for Troy Animal Healthcare.
“Producers should be using blowfly prevention products from different chemical groups within a fly season – as well as ensuring that they use a different chemical group for treating active strike, compared to the prevention product used,” Dr Hunt said.
“It is also important not to limit the rotation conversation to blowflies only, lice control management must be considered at the same time. With a product such as Avenge+Fly offering both blowfly prevention and lice control, it can fit easily into many management programs.
“With up to 14 weeks’ protection against blowfly strike when applied to long wool (six weeks to eight months off-shears) using a spray-on applicator, this product is going to be a key player in chemical rotation for blowfly strike prevention this summer.
“Come shearing time, the integration of chemical rotation for the off-shears lousicide application is critical. “If Avenge+Fly has been used in long wool for blowfly strike control, producers should move away from the neonicotinoid group (imidacloprid and thiacloprid) to control lice off-shears.
“A product such as Zotel Lice which contains spinosad from the spinosyn chemical group is an ideal rotation partner acting as a knockdown lousicides,” Dr Hunt said.
“Where blowfly prevention treatments have not been required, but a long wool lice treatment has been used, it is critical to ensure the chemical group of the lousicide used off-shears is different.”
Dr Hunt said long wool lice treatments are a salvage procedure, acting to suppress (rather than knockdown) a lice population long enough to limit damage prior to shearing. Long wool lice treatments can lead to resistance development in the lice population if that population is not knocked down effectively by a different chemical group off-shears.
“Being part of the neonicotinoid group, Avenge+Fly makes an ideal lousicide rotation product where a spinosad, ivermectin or alpha-cypermethrin long wool treatment has been used previously,” Dr Hunt said.
Avenge+Fly is an effective knockdown lousicide when applied within seven days off-shears.
