FAQ Fly and Lice
What is the best product for short wool verse long wool lice control?
When it comes to long woolled sheep, it can be difficult to control lice. Pour-ons for lice e.g., Wipeout, Magnum and Vanquish; achieve best results when applied to the fleece within 24 hours after shearing. Some products, however, are best applied with some wool. For example, Zenith concentrate, for fly and lice control, is best applied via jetting or shower dipping between 2-5 weeks off-shears. This allows the dip chemical to bind and persist in the wool and wool grease and ensures that the fleece is saturated to skin level.
Fly strike prevention?
Blow flies are attracted to dirty sheep . Keep sheep crutched and free of dags, particularly during the fly season, bearing in mind that if you are saturation dipping, you need 2-4 weeks of wool growth for the dip chemical to bind to the fleece. An effective worm control strategy at this time of the year will help to reduce dagginess in the lambs. During the summer months, avoid grazing near hotspots like scrub-filled gullies or bush margins where fly numbers are likely to be highest. When fly pressure is high, shift sheep to exposed windy pastures as these do not generally favour flies. Monitor fly traps place around the farm are useful to help predict when the fly risk is likely to be a problem. Burn or bury carcasses, and treat struck sheep with a topical flystrike treatment, as soon as possible.
Treatment quarantine periods?
Quarantine dip all sheep coming onto the property. The minimum period that should elapse between treatment and mixing with untreated sheep for most products is 8 weeks. It is important to ensure that all boundary fences are secure as lice-infested sheep from the neighbouring farms are also a potential risk.