SPRAYING LIVESTOCK against flies, ticks, mites, lice, mosquitoes, fleas and other external parasites of cattle, sheep,

goats, pig and poultry

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SPRAYING LIVESTOCK with parasiticides against

external parasites of cattle, sheep, goats, pig,
poultry: fies, ticks, mites, lice, mosquitoes, feas

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Spraying is a frequent alternative to plungedipping of cattle and

sheep in small to medium size properties, or for treating all
kinds of livestock indoors. Spraying allows to use highly concentrated parasiticides that
are diluted in water (typically 1 liter product to 500 or 1000 liters water), which results in
relatively low product costs per treatment, in any case lower than those of using pour-

PARASITICIDES
CHEMICAL CLASSES
DELIVERY FORMS
- EXTERNAL USE
Collars

ons or injectables.

Plunge Dipping

There are three major ways of spraying livestock: Spray races, power spraying and
hand spraying.

Dusts, Back rubbers

Insecticidal Ear-tags
Wound Dressings

Spray races

Pour-ons, Backliners

Spray races are used in many tropical and subtropical

countries to periodically treat cattle against ticks,flies
and other external parasites. They are an alternative
to plunge dips for medium to large properties. As a
thumb rule, spray races are a good option for treating
several hundred cattle. When it gets into the
thousands, plunge dips are usually the better choice

Shampoos, soaps, sprays...

There are also spray races for sheep adapted to their

Injectables

Spot-ons for dogs & cats

Spraying Livestock
- INTERNAL USE
Drenches
Feed additives

smaller size. They can be fix or portable and are a

good option for treating several thousand sheep. In
some countries shower dips are also popular, among

Pastes & Gels for Horses

Slow-release Boluses

other reasons because sheep and goats are not

easily convinced to spontaneously go through a spray race.

Tablets, Pills
- OFF-ANIMAL

Spray races are not used on pig or poultry.

Baits with insecticides

Compared with plunge dips, spray races allow a more flexible operation, e.g. it is no

Manure & Premise Treatment

problem to change the parasiticide since there is no need to dispose of the old dip
wash contaminated with the parasiticide and to recharge it with fresh one, which is
always bothersome and expensive for a plunge dip. Spray races are also less stressing
for livestock than plunge dips, which is important for pregnant cows, calves and
otherwise weaker animals.

Traps
PACKAGING, STORAGE & SHELF
LIFE
RESISTANCE

However, as for plunge dips, the animals have to be gathered and brought to the spray
race, which is always time consuming and labour intensive. In addition, a spray race

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

needs a reliable power and water supply, which is not always granted in rural areas of
less developed regions.

GENERICS VS. ORIGINALS

Running and maintaining spray races is technically more demanding than plunge

SAFETY OF ANTIPARASITIC
DRUGS

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SPRAYING LIVESTOCK against flies, ticks, mites, lice, mosquitoes, fleas and other external parasites of cattle, sheep, goats, pig and poultry
dips. The nozzles have to be regularly removed and cleaned and they must be correctly
adjusted to have the right pressure and ensure correct coverage, i.e. complete wetting
of the hair coat. Too much pressure can result in excessive product consumption. Too
low pressure will leave body parts uncovered. Dip wash must not form a mist that will not
wet the hair coat properly and can be easily inhaled by tha animals. The bottom line is
that it is crucial to correctly train the operators to ensure that the spray-race works
properly.
It is also important that the animals spend enough time inside the spray race, i.e., that
they don't run but walk through. Hanging some type of curtain (cloth or strings) may help
to slow down the animals.
Dip wash filtration is crucial to avoid clogging of the nozzles with dirt carried by the
animals and washed off during spraying. To reduce such dirt it is a good practice to let
the animals go through a footbath before going through the spray race.
As for plunge dips a draining race is highly recommended for spray races in order to
collect and recycle the dip wash that runs off the sprayed animals.

SPECIAL REPORTS

SUMMARIES
PARASITES OF DOGS
PARASITES OF CATS
PARASITES OF CATTLE
PARASITES OF HORSES
PARASITES OF POULTRY
PARASITES OF SHEEP & GOATS
PARASITES OF SWINE

The parasiticides used in spray races are always concentrates (emulsifiable

concentrates, wettable powders, wettable granules, etc.) to be diluted with water before
usage. For cattle and sheep they contain mainly "veteran" parasiticides such as
organophosphates, (e.g. chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos, coumaphos, diazinon, ethion,
etc.),synthetic pyrethroids (e.g. cypermethrin, deltamethrin, flumethrin) oramidines
(mostly amitraz), alone or in various mixtures. They are used against ticks, flies, mites,
lice and various cutaneous myiasis (e.g. screwworm flies). Insect development
inhibitors(e.g. cyromazine) are also used on sheep, mainly against blowfly strike.
In the last years products containingspinosad have been introduced in several countries
for spraying sheep (against lice and blowfly strike) as well as poultry (against poultry
mites and lice). Interestingly, these spinosad products are the first really new products
for spraying or dipping livestock that have been introduced since about 30 years, when
the last synthetic pyrethroids were launched for this purpose.

Also in this site:

FLEAS on DOGS & CATS

Where they live, how they develop,
natural and chemical control, etc.

Also in this site:

MEDICINAL PLANTS
Herbal medicines for dogs, cats &
livestock against fleas, ticks, mites, lice,
worms & other parasites.

So far, in most countries there are no products for any type of spraying
containingmacrocyclic lactones (e.g. ivermectin), neonicotinoids (e.g. imidacloprid)
orphenylpyrazoles (e.g. fipronil).
Efficacy of spray races on cattle and sheep is usually sufficient, but not as complete as
with plunge dips, because wetting of the hair coat after spraying is not as thorough as
after immersion, especially in less accessible body parts such as inside the ears, the
udders, beneath the tail, etc., where some tick, mite and lice species may congregate.
For sheep, spraying is usually not capable of eliminating scab mites (Psoroptis ovis)
and is not approved for this indication in several countries (e.g. UK).

Also in this site:

TICKS on DOGS & CATS

Where do pets get ticks, why they are
dangerous, how to control them, etc.

Those products that show a stripping effect in dips (mainlyorganophosphates and

amidines) will show it in spray races as well. The use recommendations regarding initial
filling and replenishment must be carefully followed.
Quite a lot of things can go wrong with a spray race (and also with a plunge dip!). The
consequence will be insufficient control and shorter protection of livestock. Occasional
mistakes are not a problem and can be usually noticed and solved. Chronic unnoticed
application errors are a more serious problem that can speed up development of
resistance by some parasite species (e.g. cattle ticks, horn flies, blowfly strike).

Power spraying
Power spraying is used in small to medium cattle and sheep properties, but also in
medium to large pig and poultry operations. Power spraying requires an initial investment
in equipment, especially if a new power generator is required. However it is substantially
cheaper than building a spray race or a plunge dip. However, such equipment needs
regular maintenance too!
Parasiticides used for power spraying are the same as for spray races, i.e. concentrates

http://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2425&Itemid=2690[18/03/2016 7:37:08 AM]

Also in this site:

SPOT-ONS & PIPETTES

for DOGS & CATS against FLEAS,
TICKS, LICE, MITES, WORMS, and
other bugs.

Also in this site:

MITES on DOGS & CATS

Where do pets get mange and other
mites, how to prevent and cure
infestations, etc.

SPRAYING LIVESTOCK against flies, ticks, mites, lice, mosquitoes, fleas and other external parasites of cattle, sheep, goats, pig and poultry
to be diluted with water, that contain mainly organophosphates, (e.g. chlorfenvinphos,

Also in this site:

chlorpyrifos, coumaphos, diazinon, ethion, etc.),synthetic pyrethroids (e.g. cypermethrin,

deltamethrin, flumethrin) oramidines (mostly amitraz), alone or in various mixtures.

LICE on DOGS & CATS

In poultry operations, power spraying is often a good choice for treating large number of
birds against lice, mites and other external parasites. It is also adequate for
treatingpremises to reach cracks and other potential hiding places of several parasites,
not always easy to achieve in layer houses.
Power spraying is also used in pig operations, where it also important to thoroughly wet
the animals and to treat the surroundingpremises as well (tubes, fencings, etc.).
Jetting is a particular variety of power spraying used for sheep in a few countries, notably
in Australia. Instead of spraying the animals with a single nozzle from a certain distance,
special wands with various nozzles are used to apply the liquid directly into the wool.
Jetting is especially popular to protect sheep against blowfly strike.

Hand spraying with knapsack sprayers

Hand spraying, mostly using a knapsack sprayer is the
cheapest way of applying parasiticides to all kinds of
livestock. It is also the most popular for millions of small
farmers in less developed countries that have to treat a
few dozen cattle or a few hundred sheep, goats or birds.
The only investment is the knapsack sprayer and
personal work.
Most products available for plunge dipping, spray races
and power spraying are available for hand spraying as
well, just in small packs of 10 to 50 ml, enough to fill one
or two knapsack sprayers. They are concentrates to be
diluted with water that contain mainly organophosphates,
(e.g. chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos, coumaphos,
diazinon, ethion, etc.),synthetic pyrethroids (e.g. cypermethrin, deltamethrin, flumethrin)
oramidines (mostly amitraz), alone or in various mixtures.
The major disadvantage of hand spraying is that it is seldom done correctly and
efficacy is often poor. Each animal must be treated thoroughly until it is completely wet,
including the udders, the belly, below the tail, etc. Theoretically 2 to 5 liters (depending
on the animals size and the hair coat) of spray wash are needed for each sheep or cattle
(as much as they would get in a plunge dip!) and 1 liter for each pig. This requires
discipline and considerable effort.
Instead, it is quite frequent to spray altogether a group of animals in an enclosure or
along a race, where they get a bit of liquid on the back and perhaps on the flanks and the
head. Even if a worker wants to do it right, he often gets tired before all the animals have
been treated: the last ones won't be as thoroughly treated as the first ones. This way or
working can provide some relief against certain parasites, but is certainly inadequate to
reduce the parasite population. And it often means under dosing, which favors the
development of resistance by several parasites.

Written by P. Junquera
C
Last Updated on July 27 2015

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P. Junquera 2007-2016. All rights reserved.

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