Tag Archives: pests

Horn flies can damage cattle skin, need to be controlled

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Writer: Dr. Joe Paschal, 361-265-9203, joe.paschal@ag.tamu.edu The other day when I was turning out the cows to a rested pasture full of green grass and winter weeds, I noticed many of them had several horn flies and other cows had quite a few. I guess it is going to be an early season. The horn fly, which seems to be a misnomer since they congregate on cattle without horns, too, were introduced to the U.S. from Europe in the late 1800s. They were called horn fly because they clustered… Read More →

New year, old pests: Fever tick and screwworm

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Writer: Dr. Joe Paschal, 361-265-9203, j-paschal@tamu.edu The fever tick Far south, along the Rio Grande on the U.S. and Mexican border, there is a reminder of one of the most successful livestock parasite eradication programs in the U.S., if not the world – the USDA Fever Tick Eradication Program. This program began in 1906 by the forerunner of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), although limited efforts to control parasites began 20 years earlier. Its purpose was to remove the ticks that carried cattle fever babesiosis, caused… Read More →