Insect control
Although recent weather has been hot and at times dry, periods of wet, cooler weather provides a perfect environment for flies and mosquitos to live and breed around barns. An increase in mosquito populations bring with it an increased frequency of bites and the risk of carcass trim that can be costly. Flies are a nuisance and have the potential of spreading diseases. Several options are available for insect control in and around our swine barns. Before considering insecticides, work on managing the environmental factors that allow insect breeding.
- Keep grass around barns mowed short
- Eliminate standing water around the site
- Run curtains up routinely (weekly) to eliminate pooled water
- Shut-off night lights in the barn
- Consider agitating pit if a considerable crust exists
- Have adequate material to cover carcasses in compost bays
- Clean-up feed spills outside and inside the barn
Insecticides are also an important part of a fly and mosquito control program. Several options are available. Consider the following:
House flies and fruit flies
Insect growth regulators (IGR) disrupt the molting process, which is essential for fly life. IGR’s are used to treat the pit, where the fly life cycle is most often taking place.
Neporex – for pit application
- Dry scatter granules and wash into pit: 1 pound per 200 sq. ft.
- Pouring into pit: 1 pound/gallon of water per 200 sq. ft
Clarifly – for in-feed application
- Follow label directions for complete swine diet
Outside barn application
Optimate® CS as a residual spray on surfaces where adult flies rest.
- Mixing Rate: 1 oz. of Optimate® CS/gallon water.
- One gallon will spray approximately 1000 square feet. Apply as a residual spray using a backpack sprayer. Make sure that the spray does not drift into the building when animals are present inside.
Tempo SC to spray the perimeter of the building.
- Mixing Rate: 16 ml of Tempo SC/gallon water
- Apply around the perimeter of the building. One gallon will spray approx. 1000 square feet.
Inside barn application
Microcare 3% CS—Apply to pigs and on barn surfaces as a light mist.
- Mixing Rate: 4 oz. Microcare/gallon water
- Apply ULD BP-100 to pigs and on barn surfaces.
- Mixing Rate: Undiluted; apply at a rate of 1 oz./1,000 cubic feet.
Mosquitoes
Outside barn application
Tempo SC— spray outside the barn a couple weeks prior to topping if mosquitoes are an issue. Sites may need to be sprayed weekly until the site is closed out.
- Mixing Rate: 16 ml Tempo/gallon of water
- Apply around the perimeter of the building. One gallon will spray approximately 1000 sq. ft.
Inside barn application
Microcare 3% CS— Apply to pigs and on barn surfaces as a light mist.
- Mixing Rate: 4 oz. Microcare/gallon water
Stryker™ Insecticide Concentrate for use on barn surfaces as a light mist
- Mixing Rate: Mix 2 fluid ounces Stryker™ Insecticide Concentrate/gallon water
Supply Decontamination
Supply entry into a farm has always presented a biosecurity risk. Over time, multiple methods to attempt full disinfection of these supplies have been used. Fogging supplies with a disinfectant is a common practice used by farms to decontaminate supplies¼ although it may not be as effective as we all perceive it to be. Recent work presented in the student session at the 2020 AASV meeting, reviewed the fogging of supplies and showed that this practice does not apply full coverage of disinfectant on the surfaces of supplies.
- In brief, three fogging procedures were compared to hand-spraying supply surfaces
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- A single Hurricane fogger
- A single Fogmaster fogger
- Two Hurricane foggers running simultaneously
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- A decontamination room was used that included 3-tier shelving for box placement
- Foggers in the room were set up to create a disinfection cloud within the room and run for a 10-minute cycle
- Colored dye was applied with the fogger and a percentage of surface coverage was measured with an imaging software program.
The manual application through a hand-sprayer was able to achieve a 95% coverage of all surfaces compared to the two Hurricane fogger method (57%) and the single Hurricane fogger and single Fogmaster fogger (40% and 24% respectively).
This study shows that creating a disinfectant fog within a decontamination room does a poor job in completely covering all surfaces of supplies with disinfectant. Considerations to increase the success of supply disinfection should include hand-application of disinfectant or updating supply entry procedures that allow supplies to be exposed to heating and a holding time before entered into the farm.
Leuck K, et al. Evaluation of location and fogger type on disinfectant surface area coverage of supplies entering a commercial sow farm. Student Research Presentations, 51 Am Assoc Swine Vet Annual Meeting. 2020;58.
Animal Health Product Updates
Manufacturing issues for many swine health products over the year has led to several backorders. An update on products that have recently become available again includes:
- Tylan 200 is now available
- Injectable Oxytetracycline is now available
- Short-acting penicillin is now available
Work with your Swine Vet Center veterinarian to review treatment protocols and discuss where these antibiotics fit into your herd health management.
SVC Office Hours: Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM
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