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Evaluation of the VetCap Treatment Method for Horn Fly Control on Cattle
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A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the VetCap® treatment method, (SmartVet Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia) to control horn flies infesting cattle. The VetCap® delivery system consists of a pressure (liquid CO2) driven launcher and an encapsulated insecticide (CyLence®) formulation (10 ml CyLence® gel capsules). Three groups of cattle on three adjacent pastures were used, including (1) animals treated with 10 ml CyLence® pour-on formulation, (2) animals treated with VetCap® treatment method (10 ml CyLence® gel capsule), and (3) the untreated animals. Horn fly counts were conducted at two days prior to treatment, and at 4, 11, 18, 25, 32, and 39 days post treatment. Mean fly numbers per side of animal of all three groups at each sampling date were obtained, and percent controls of each treatment method were generated by comparing them to: (1) the untreated control group, and (2) the pre-treatment fly count within the treatment group. Both treatment methods provided significant control of horn flies for about three weeks. A higher level of control was achieved with the Pour-on treatment, which was largely due to smaller animal size and lower pre-treatment fly load on animals. The VetCap® method is amenable to other applications for the remote treatment of domestic animals and wildlife species. Testing the VetCap® method’s utility to treat cattle, horses, white-tailed deer, and other exotic ungulate wildlife species found to be infested with cattle fever ticks in the US is warranted.
Andrew Y. Li
Adalberto A. Perez de Leon
International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine 2011 v.9 no.2
Journal Articles, USDA Authors, Peer-Reviewed
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