![]() ![]() ![]() The natural fly control has led to more dung beetles in her pastures. ![]() Modifications, Simmons says, could possibly reduce the costs. Construction costs came to $811 for material and $3,000 for labor. She had her walk-through fly trap built according to a blueprint available from the University of Missouri Extension (/mx1904c6). “The trap actually works pretty well without the brushes.” “I didn’t have the brushes installed on the inside of the trap because the canvas strips make it easier for the cattle to take themselves through, especially the first few times,” Simmons explains. With some hesitation the first time, the cattle walk through readily in subsequent treatments. Simmons lets the cattle find their own way out of the trap. To walk the cattle through the trap, she positions the trap so it provides the exit from a corral. “Last year, we treated only one calf for pinkeye,” Simmons says. Hand in hand with fewer flies has come a drop in pinkeye cases. “Rather than waiting for clouds of horn flies to appear, the fly counts tell me when to take action before the animals are troubled.” “I learned that counting the flies or making some kind of measurement is the only way to know if something might be working – whether it’s a pesticide, a management practice, or a fly trap,” she says. Routine monitoring of fly populations tells Simmons when cattle need to pass through the trap. “Weather could be a factor, too,” she says. Simmons credits the trap with playing a role in the smaller number of flies. The third year of using the trap, in 2017, the fly population was so diminished, she used it only twice. “After passing through the trap, the cows had hardly any flies on them.” “I used it six times the first year,” she says. The first two years she walked cattle through the trap when the fly population was large enough to number about 200 flies per cow. The fly trap achieved similar control in Simmons’ herd. Horn flies were maintained below the economic threshold of 200 flies per animal. Both tests achieved horn fly control of 50% and 40%, respectively. The flies become trapped in the screened areas.ĭesigned in the 1930s by entomologist Willis Bruce, the trap was tested in Missouri in the 1980s and again in the 1990s. The dislodged flies are drawn to the light at the bottom of the trap coming through louvered screens. As cattle pass through the trap, strips of canvas or old carpet dislodge flies from the animals. Measuring about 10 feet in length, the walk-through fly trap is constructed with a solid top and partially solid sides to create a dim interior. It is an old-fashioned walk-through fly trap Simmons tried at her own ranch that is doing a good job of controlling face and horn flies in her cattle. “We found this trap does trap stable flies and the blow flies that can be so hard on sheep,” she says. Then, working with her neighbor, a sheep producer, she tested an Nzi flexible-cloth fly trap. Simmons cross-fenced her 335 acres of main pasture into eight paddocks. Her first step was to implement rotational grazing, a practice known to thwart flies since cattle are frequently moved. Searching for nonchemical control options, Simmons developed a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant project ( /sare_project/fnc14-977/) to experiment with nonchemical fly-control systems that would also have the effect of conserving beneficial insects. Markets Analysis Back to Markets Analysis. ![]()
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