An alternative management strategy for manure-impacted environments

Pasture flies associated with cattle manure threaten profitability of cattle production in the Great Plains. Insecticides are most often used for on-animal fly control but de-registration and documented or suspected resistance is limiting their efficacy. Additionally, grazing lands rely on beneficial insects (e.g., dung beetles) for optimal ecosystem service and some research has indicated non-target effects of some pyrethroid chemistries (e.g., pyrethroids) on these beneficial insects. As alternatives, we are testing the usefulness of plant-derived biopesticide formulations as cattle protectants in a push-pull system and for their ability to limit fly productivity in breeding sites. In early testing, biopesticide geraniol treatment was effective in repelling flies (exerting a push effect) from treated to untreated cattle. This transitory effect occurred when 100 or 50% of the herd was treated.