Enhancing Animal Production through Premise Pest Control

Premise treatments are an important, but often overlooked, part of filth fly control in animal production facilities. These flies are often found on or around cows, chickens and turkeys and their feed, so these are often the areas that are treated using feed throughs and/or over animal treatments. However, it is important to also treat where these flies breed and rest, such as around barns, silos, manure piles, etc.

Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your premise treatments:

Sanitation: Keep animals out of the treatment area and remove manure, feed, and other organic materials from potential breeding sites. Sanitation and premise treatments go hand in hand. Pesticides alone will not be successful, and it is easier for insects to absorb the insecticide from a clean surface rather than one that is dirty. Animals can be returned once the treatment has dried.
Use Multiple MOAs: The best premise products provide long residual, knockdown agent, and an insect growth regulator to keep populations from rebounding. Using products with multiple modes of action and rotating products will also help fight insecticide resistance.
Treat both breeding and resting areas: Although breeding areas are important to treat, don’t forget about areas where the flies rest and feed. House and stable flies are daytime insects and rest in protected areas at night. Treating vegetation, walls, fence lines, etc., will ensure that more flies get exposed to the treatment and you will have a better chance of controlling your fly population.

After treatments, ensure that you are checking trap counts to ensure that populations are declining. If control is not achieved, don’t be afraid to re-inspect to ensure that all relevant areas have been cleaned and treated. Fly control is easier before populations explode and including premise treatments in your control plan can help keep them at bay.

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Written By

Christy Jones

Christy Jones is a board certified entomologist with more than a decade’s experience in entomological research in both lab and field settings. She is also the newest member of MGK’s technical team. In her role as the Technical Data Support Specialist, she is responsible for generating sales and marketing data for MGK’s branded products. Previously, Christy supported the company’s R&D team as an entomologist. She has a master’s degree in Entomology from the University of Florida and received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Winthrop University.