Volume 8, No. 8
CONTROL LICE SAFELY
By: Russ Schnepper, D. V. M.
Lice can be controlled safely and inexpensively with pour on insecticides. I witnessed the application of powdered insecticides to control lice on veal calves. The air was filled with dust. The person applying the dust and the calves were inhaling the toxic insecticide. Calves showed labored breathing and some developed pneumonia from inhaling the poison. Using a pour on eliminates the respiratory hazard.
Our most cost effective product is BOSS. Only three ml per 100 pounds of calf is poured along the mid line on the back to control lice. It should be repeated in ten to fourteen days for maximal control. BOSS costs less than $0.057 to treat a 100 pound calf one time. So two treatments only costs less than $0.12 per 100 pound calf. The powdered insecticides are also labeled for two treatments 14 days apart. The timing is critical. If the second treatment is applied before ten days, the eggs may not have hatched and the treatment will not kill the eggs. If the second treatment is applied later than 14 days, the eggs may have hatched and the newly hatched lice may have laid another batch of eggs that will not be killed by the second treatment.
Eprinex, Dectomax, Ivomec, Cydectin, and other mectin type pour ons are effective with one application due to their residual properties. However the costs are many times more than the more cost effective products. They are excellent products, as they kill grubs, worms and lice. But in a veal operation you do not need to pay for these properties as lice is all you are after. The baby calf will not have worms and most of them will not have grubs. The only situation where I am aware of a problem with grubs has been in started calves that were started outside in hutches. If your calves were started outside during the fly season, you should treat them with the products that get grubs. We had a case in which the veal hide showed grub damage and caused a severe dock on the price of the hide.
Do not use an injectable insecticide such as Ivomec or Dectomax to control lice. The normal flora of lice on a calf is made up of two kinds. One is a sucking louse, which is controlled by the injectable insecticide. The other is a biting louse that is not killed by the injectable. Normally the two types of lice compete with each other for food and space on the calf. When one is eliminated (in this case the sucking lice) there is no competition for the biting lice and they multiply many times faster than normal. The end result is there are more lice on the calf than if it had not been treated for lice.
Treating dairy beef and/or heifers for lice requires treating all the cattle in the group and then not mixing new untreated cattle into the group. Otherwise the newly introduced animals will reinfest the previously treated animals.
Fall is the season to use the Ivermectins as they will get the grubs, worms and lice. This way you get your money's worth when using the expensive products on the older animals.
Contact information for ordering information and questions about our products:
Schnepper International, Inc.
3162 County B, Platteville, WI 53818
608-348-6141, Fax: 608-348-6146
www.calfdoctor.com email: rschnep@mhtc.net