What’s the Best Pour-On For Winter Lice Control?

As cold weather approaches, it’s time to start thinking about lice control in cattle. These parasitic nuisances can cause all kinds of problems from hair loss to reduced weight gain.

Watch Dr. Steve Dudley, FBN® Head of Technical Services and practicing veterinarian with Southwest Veterinary Services, in the video below to learn more about:

• The problems lice create

• Different pour-ons available on the market

• How to effectively use pour-ons to address lice challenges

View the video below, or keep scrolling to read through the key takeaways of Dr. Dudley's presentation.

Watch Now: Winter Lice Control

Treating Lice on Cattle

Lice are the most common external and visible parasites that can present challenges to livestock producers. Because they can cause significant irritation and potential loss of production, preventing and treating them is important. 

Clinical symptoms from lice include:

• Intense irritation, which causes itching and scratching, potential hair loss, and damage to facilities and equipment

• Reduced weight gain

• Potential anemia from blood loss

Types of Cattle Lice

Lice are spread through direct contact, but they don’t survive long when not attached to animals.

There are two types of cattle lice:

• Biting lice: With flat heads, these lice primarily feed on dandruff and skin debris. They are more difficult to control because they go through the whole cattle body and cause systemic problems.

• Sucking lice: With long snouts, these lice feed on blood. 

Neither type of lice that impacts cattle affect humans. 

Cattle Louse Life Cycle

The life cycle of lice in cattle occurs over a 4-6 week time period.

Lice lay eggs on day 1. By day 7, those eggs have developed into a nymph stage that lasts for approximately 7 to 21 days. Once a louse reaches the adult stage, it can start to lay eggs in 7 to 14 days and then the cycle starts over again. 

Lice are primarily cool season pests that cause more problems in the winter because cattle have thicker coats and insulation.It’s estimated that 1 louse in September can result in 1 million in January if cattle are left untreated. It’s important to proactively treat cattle for lice.

How to Treat Lice with Pour-ons  

There are several lice pour-on options available on the market, including:

• Clean-Up™ II (diflubenzuron & permethrin)

• Ivermectin (this is the active ingredient, with both name brand and generic products available on the market)

• Cydectin® (moxidectin)

• Dectomax® (doramectin)

• Eprinex® (eprinomectin)

Lice Pour-On Product Options

Clean-Up™ II is a good product because it offers season long lice control with a single application. It kills all stages of both biting and sucking lice. It is approved for lactating and non-lactating dairy cattle, beef cattle, calves and horses. It should be noted that Clean-Up II is toxic to aquatic organisms such as fish, though, so you’ll want to minimize any run off when using this product. 

The recommended dosage is 3 ml per 100 lbs of body weight; you shouldn’t use more than 30 ml per animal. It is also recommended that you not only pour it along the back line of the animal, but also on the animal’s poll/face. This may require the person working the headgate to have their own application bottle and gun. The product spreads through the skin via oil.

Stock Up on Lice Pour-ons from FBN®

Check out all available lice pour-on product options available from FBN by clicking here to visit the Animal Health store.

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