Flies are more than just a seasonal nuisance for cattle producers. When populations build during warm months, they create measurable stress on cattle, reduce grazing time, interfere with feeding behavior, and ultimately impact performance. Horn flies alone can cost the U.S. cattle industry more than 2 billion dollars annually through decreased weight gain and reduced productivity.
Because flies reproduce quickly and thrive in manure-rich environments, effective management requires more than reacting to adult flies once they appear. The most successful programs start early and target the fly lifecycle before populations explode. One proven strategy many producers use is feed-through fly control for cattle.
Feed-through fly control products work behind the scenes to disrupt fly development, helping reduce populations before they ever reach adulthood. When used correctly as part of a broader fly management plan, they can help producers keep cattle more comfortable and maintain performance throughout the grazing season.
Understand the Fly Lifecycle
To understand how feed-through fly control works, it helps to first look at the lifecycle of common pasture flies.
Most pest flies affecting cattle, including horn flies and face flies, spend a significant portion of their lifecycle in manure. Adult flies lay eggs in fresh manure shortly after cattle deposit it in the pasture. Within days, those eggs hatch into larvae that develop in the manure before emerging as adult flies.
Under favorable conditions, this cycle can take as little as 10 to 14 days. That means fly populations can grow rapidly if the cycle is not interrupted.
Traditional fly control methods often focus on killing adult flies after they are already active on cattle. While those tools can provide relief, they do not stop new generations from emerging. This is where feed-through fly control for cattle offers an advantage by targeting the early stages of fly development.
What Is Feed-Through Fly Control for Cattle?
Feed-through fly control is a proactive management approach that delivers an insect growth regulator (IGR) through the animal’s diet. These products are typically included in mineral supplements or feed additives that cattle consume daily.
Once consumed, the active ingredient passes through the digestive system and is excreted in manure. When fly larvae begin developing in that manure, the IGR interferes with their growth, preventing them from maturing into adult flies.
Because the product acts in manure rather than directly on the animal, it works continuously in areas where cattle graze, rest, and congregate.
When enough cattle in a herd consume the product consistently, the result is fewer flies emerging from manure across the pasture.
At BioZyme®, we include ClariFly®, a four-fly larvicide, in our fly-control supplements. ClariFly prevents house flies, stable flies, face flies, and horn flies from developing in and emerging from the manure of treated livestock. ClariFly interrupts the fly’s lifecycle through the active ingredient Diflubenzuron, which inhibits chitin synthesis.
Feed-Through Fly Control Reduces Fly Populations
The effectiveness of feed-through fly control for cattle comes from its ability to break the reproductive cycle of flies. Instead of allowing larvae to mature into biting adults, the IGR stops them during development.
This approach delivers several advantages for cattle operations, including:
1. Targets Flies Before They Become a Problem
Because feed-through products affect larvae in manure, they work early in the lifecycle. Reducing the number of flies that reach adulthood helps keep populations lower throughout the season.
2. Provides Continuous Coverage
When cattle consume a mineral or feed additive daily, the fly control ingredient continues to move through the animal and into manure. This creates continuous protection in pastures without needing frequent application or handling.
3. Works Across the Grazing Environment
Unlike topical treatments that act only on the animal, feed-through products affect manure throughout the pasture. This helps reduce flies in loafing areas, around water sources, and across grazing locations.
4. Supports Overall Herd Comfort
Lower fly pressure can improve cattle comfort, allowing animals to spend more time grazing and less time fighting insects. Reduced stress can translate into better feed utilization and improved performance and gain during the grazing season.
When to Start Feed-Through Fly Control
Timing plays an important role in the success of any fly control program. Because feed-through products prevent larvae from developing into adults, they should be introduced before fly populations begin to peak.
Many experts recommend starting feed-through fly control for cattle at least 30 days before flies typically emerge in your region. This timing ensures the product is already present in manure when the first flies begin laying eggs.
Starting early helps reduce the first generation of flies, which in turn limits the number of flies capable of reproducing later in the season.
Maintaining consistent intake throughout the fly season is critical. Interruptions in consumption can allow new generations of flies to develop.
Ensure Consistent Consumption
For feed-through fly control products to work effectively, cattle must consume the product regularly. This is why many producers choose to include fly control ingredients in free-choice mineral supplements, like those in the VitaFerm line.
Several management practices can help ensure consistent intake:
- Place mineral feeders in areas cattle frequent regularly
- Monitor mineral consumption and adjust placement if needed
- Ensure enough feeder space so all animals have access
- Avoid running out of mineral during peak grazing periods
Consistency across the entire herd matters. If some cattle are not consuming the product, flies can still develop in manure and contribute to population growth.
Integrating Feed-Through Fly Control with Other Methods
While feed-through fly control for cattle is highly effective at targeting developing flies, it is most successful when used as part of an integrated fly management program.
Combining multiple control strategies can help address flies at different stages of their lifecycle, and an integrated pest management control is the best way to combat flies.
Common complementary tools include:
Fly Tags
Insecticide ear tags provide direct control of adult flies on cattle. They can reduce horn fly pressure when populations increase.
Pour-Ons and Sprays
Topical insecticides can provide a quick knockdown of adult flies when pressure becomes heavy.
Dust Bags or Back Rubbers
These tools allow cattle to apply insecticide to themselves when moving through gates or along travel paths.
Pasture Management
Reducing areas where manure accumulates and managing grazing patterns can also help limit fly development.
When used collaboratively, these strategies create a layered defense that addresses both developing larvae and adult flies.
Benefits Beyond Fly Reduction
Reducing fly populations is not just about convenience. High fly pressure can have real economic consequences for cattle operations.
Research has shown that heavy infestations of horn flies can reduce average daily gain in grazing cattle. Cattle may spend less time grazing and more time engaging in defensive behaviors such as tail switching, head throwing, and bunching together.
By lowering fly pressure through feed-through fly control for cattle, producers may see benefits that extend beyond pest reduction, including:
- Improved grazing behavior
- Increased feed utilization
- Reduced stress on cattle
- Potential improvements in weight gain
While fly control alone cannot guarantee performance outcomes, it helps remove a source of environmental stress that can interfere with productivity.
Build a Seasonal Fly Management Plan
Every cattle operation faces slightly different fly challenges depending on climate, herd size, pasture conditions, and management practices. However, most successful programs follow a similar seasonal approach.
A strong plan often includes:
- Early-season prevention using feed-through fly control products
- Monitor fly populations throughout the grazing season
- Add adult fly control tools when pressure increases
- Maintain consistent mineral intake across the herd
By addressing flies early and maintaining a consistent control program, producers can help keep fly populations manageable throughout the summer.
A Proactive Approach to Fly Control
Flies are an unavoidable part of cattle production, but their impact can be reduced with the right management tools. Instead of waiting until flies become overwhelming, proactive strategies focus on interrupting the lifecycle before populations grow out of control.
Feed-through fly control works quietly in the background by preventing developing flies from ever reaching adulthood. When cattle consume products like VitaFerm with ClariFly consistently, they help reduce fly emergence across the pasture and support a more comfortable environment for the herd.
For many producers, incorporating feed-through fly control for cattle into their mineral or feeding program is a practical step toward maintaining herd health, protecting performance, and keeping fly pressure under control during the grazing season.
VitaFerm Provides Options With ClariFly
It is critical to find the right cattle mineral with feed-through fly control for cattle for your specific operation. VitaFerm offers 6 formulas of its vitamin and mineral supplements with ClariFly to help stop horn, face, stable, and house flies in their larval stage. VitaFerm is a line of nutritional supplements for beef cattle that maximizes energy and forage utilization for successful production. One of the unique features of VitaFerm products is the inclusion of AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a prebiotic research-proven to increase digestibility, which aids in the forage utilization, ensuring your herd gets more nutritional value from every bite. Furthermore, while Amaferm increases volatile fatty acid (VFA) production in the rumen by 16% and helps them extract more nutrients from their forage, it will improve their overall health.
Additionally, the HEAT® technology in some VitaFerm products also contains a combination of essential oils and garlic to support animals when heat and insects are a challenge.
VitaFerm® ONE HEAT® with ClariFly®
VitaFerm ONE HEAT with ClariFly is a free-choice vitamin and mineral supplement for beef cattle that meets or exceeds nutrient requirements throughout the production cycle. ClariFly and HEAT technology promote cattle performance when temperatures exceed 70 degrees Fahrenheit or when cattle are grazing fescue.
VitaFerm® ONE HEAT® CTC 3G with ClariFly®
VitaFerm ONE HEAT CTC 3G with ClariFly is a free-choice vitamin and mineral supplement that meets or exceeds nutrient requirements throughout the production cycle. It contains ClariFly, CTC and HEAT technology to promote beef cattle performance when temperatures are above 70 degrees Fahrenheit or when cattle are grazing fescue.
VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® Protein Tub with ClariFly®
This premium protein tub, VitaFerm Concept•Aid Protein Tub with ClariFly, contains vitamins, minerals and ClariFly® . More than that, it’s specifically for beef cattle on grass pasture. It supports reproductive success on low-protein forage. The first-and-only VitaFerm tub with ClariFly includes 20% natural protein along with organic copper, iodine, and zinc for maximum bioavailability, innate immunity, and hoof health. High levels of Vitamin E support reproductive tract repair and milk quality.
VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S with ClariFly®
Three VitaFerm Concept•Aid 5/S formulas exist with ClariFly, providing producers the options they need for their management scenarios. All are premium free-choice 5% phosphorus vitamin and mineral supplements with ClariFly for beef cattle designed to support reproductive success. They all include Amaferm and organic copper, iodine, and zinc for maximum bioavailability, innate immunity, and hoof health. High levels of Vitamin E support reproductive tract repair and milk quality.
In addition to VitaFerm Concept•Aid 5/S with ClariFly, look for these two other formulas:
- VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S HEAT® with ClariFly®, which contains the HEAT technology, a combination of essential oils and garlic for when heat and insects are challenges.
- VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S CTC 3G with ClariFly®, which also contains CTC for control of anaplasmosis
Get your VitaFerm Today
At BioZyme, we pride ourselves on making products that answer a need. With billions of dollars lost each year to fly damage and stress, we know feed-through fly control for cattle should be an essential part of your integrated pest management system. That’s why we created vitamin and mineral supplements in the VitaFerm line, including ClariFly.
At BioZyme, we give you options within the VitaFerm line. Not sure what to feed cows when it comes to the VitaFerm line? Check out our Concept•Aid Product Navigator.
Get your VitaFerm products from an authorized BioZyme dealer today. Our extensive dealer network is here to help you meet mineral needs.
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