Fly Boards Reduce Problem Face Flies

Fly Boards Reduce Problem Face Flies LIVESTOCK Beef Fred Forsburg’s fly boards capture thousands of face flies a day freeing his cattle up to graze more while reducing potential pink eye Forsburg practices intensive grazing with a small herd of stockers He outlined his fly control efforts in a recent issue of On Pasture www onpasture com He got the idea after he placed a piece of sheet steel against a post next to a water tank while he opened a valve As cattle bobbed their heads toward the water face flies left to sit on the steel plate “I headed straight for the shop and attached a half dozen strips of fly ribbon to a wide board ” says Forsburg “I placed the board against the wire behind the tank It captured hundreds of flies in no time as the herd drank ” Fly ribbon was hard to work with so Forsburg started searching for alternatives He first tried out CatchMaster brand wide flypaper It was not as messy as fly ribbon and captured 2 000 flies in a day But Forsburg was still not satisfied so he tracked down a company that makes flypaper “I asked to speak to the vice president of Research and Development ” says Forsburg “He took my call and later visited the farm When he did he supplied me with a variety of their products and we strategized on how to use them ” Forsburg settled on what are known as glue boards The 12 by 24-in sheets have a heavier backing than the flypaper and are easy to staple in place A protective film over the sticky surface is removed at the location where they will be used He staples one or two glue boards to each board depending on how many flies are around The glue boards last longer than the flypaper He changes them multiple times a week during heavy fly season or when they are full Each board can hold more than 2 000 flies ” While his system will never eliminate flies completely it does reduce the numbers Since only the female face fly attacks cattle eliminating so many of them has a potent effect on the overall population Forsburg continues to work on his next generation of fly traps He encourages others to contact him with what they have found out about face flies and controlling them Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Fred Forsburg 6241 Price Rd Livonia N Y 14487 ph 585 346-3829; honeyhillfarm@rochester rr com; www honeyhillorganicfarm com

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