Bug Your Flies To Death

Bug Your Flies To Death CROPS Insect Control 32-3-32 Tired of being bugged by flies around your livestock? Kunafin Insectary may have the answer for you. The Texas firm is spreading the word on Biological Integrated Insect Control (BIIC), a fancy way of saying they use bugs to kill bugs. "We work everywhere from beef feedlots, dairies, poultry and swine buildings to dog kennels and horse barns," says Clifton Castle, a Kunafin consultant. Kunafin raises predator insects that will seek out and lay their own eggs in fly eggs and larvae. One of Kunafin's predators is the trichogramma wasp. Only 1/50 of an inch in size, it is naturally attracted to more than 200 species of fly eggs. When the Kunafin predator egg hatches, it eats the egg or fly larvae. Incubators - bags loaded with predator insect eggs - are shipped to customers on a regular basis. A consultant like Castle helps set up a control program that includes number and placement of incubators. "Each program depends on the number of animals, existing fly pressure and type of manure handling, whether a pile or a lagoon with a crust," says Castle. "We recommend the number of incubators needed and how often they should be set out. " Placement is important, he advises, as the parasites tend to stay in the area. Timing is also key. Weekly placement of fresh incubators is common, but it also depends on the fly pressure. A single incubator that costs $37, including shipping, might be all that's needed for a small dairy or livestock operation, especially if the fly population is controlled early. "The best time to start is when flies first appear," says Castle. "One incubator has thousands and thousands of predators, but a single fly can lay 2,000 eggs." If heavy fly pressure already exists, Castle suggests a combination of predator incubators for eggs and larvae and limited chemical spray and bait for adult flies. Using a combined approach not only helps prevent resistance to chemical controls, but can also save money. "We've had feedlot customers who cut their fly control costs in half from when they used only foggers and chemical control," says Castle. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kunafin Insectary, P.O. Box 190, Quemado, Texas 78877 (ph 830 757-1181 or 800 832-1113; fax 830 757-1468; office@kunafin.com; www.kunafin.com).

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