Farmers are being urged to ‘strike first’ against blowfly, as the unseasonably mild weather could pave the way for a sharp increase in the UK fly population.
The Met Office believes this winter may have been the warmest ever recorded, prompting fears that these favourable conditions will result in a more abundant blowfly population.
Elanco Animal Health is encouraging farmers to take control of blowfly and strike first against the parasite using preventative products.
Fiona Anderson, Technical Consultant Manager at Elanco Animal Health, said increasingly unpredictable weather is one of the factors behind the variation in the blowfly season, making preventative measures even more important.
“It’s crucial we do not get complacent when it comes to blowfly – the costs of inaction can be devastating.
“It’s an extremely distressing disease to see in sheep, and obviously for the sheep themselves, so there’s no sense in taking the risk. Farmers should take control of the situation, before blowfly strikes their flock, by using preventative products with full fleece protection. Another benefit of using a preventative product early in the season is that killing flies from the first wave of the insects reduces the total number of flies for the rest of the season.”
The call comes as Elanco Animal Health launches its ‘Strike First’ campaign, which includes a survey of farmers to assess attitudes to blowfly strike, and also sees the return of Elanco’s blowfly strike tracker.
Farmer David Sellar believes the season is becoming more unpredictable, but he uses preventative products for peace of mind: “It’s harder to predict the blowfly season, you can only go on the weekly forecasts and reports of what is happening in other places and whether other people have applied treatment. However, prevention is better than cure; if everything is covered to start with then it is less hassle for me and an easier time for the sheep, knowing that they are covered from the start.”
Elanco Animal Health will be offering a range of support materials to specialist retailers and farmers to encourage discussion and preventative action on blowfly.
For more information on how you can prevent blowfly strike, visit www.farmanimalhealth.co.uk
