Keep a Clean Calf Environment on the Fly with ClariFly®

If you could manage flies in your calf housing area continuously, with no harmful chemicals, and for less than a penny per calf per day, would you do it?

Actually, it is possible to do just that by adding ClariFly® Larvicide to your calf milk replacer. ClariFly is a “feed-through larvicide” that, when added to milk replacer, travels through the calf’s digestive system and is deposited in the environment via manure.

Anyone who has worked around livestock – especially calves – knows what a menace flies can be. They love the “goodies” provided by manure, spilled milk, sweet calf starter grain, and soiled bedding, and can reproduce rapidly in warm and humid conditions. In addition to being annoying to human caregivers, they act as vectors that carry respiratory disease, pinkeye, mastitis and more, plus cause stress on animals.

Calves exposed to heavy fly populations eat and rest less – two keys to efficient gains in young calves. In group housing, they also tend to bunch together to avoid flies, which interferes with their expression of natural behaviors. Research studies have proven that reducing fly populations improves feed efficiency. The calf housing area is also a critical “hot spot” for fly populations that can impact the entire farm site. Keeping fly levels low around the calves helps maintain a better environment for older animals and people as well.

ClariFly interrupts the cycle of fly reproduction by acting as an insect growth regulator. Its active ingredient, diflubenzuron, inhibits the production of chitin, which builds the insect’s exoskeleton. When the eggs and larvae come into contact with the ClariFly in the treated manure, the larvae will not be able to form the exoskeleton that would allow them to become adult flies. The result: death of the larvae and a broken fly reproduction cycle. This action is effective in interrupting the reproduction of house flies, stable flies, face flies, and horn flies, but it does not affect existing adult flies. Diflubenzuron is classified as non-carcinogenic by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

The beauty of using ClariFly is that it is, perhaps, the closest thing to “fix it and forget it” of any calf management practice. Once it is incorporated into the milk replacer formulation, it and the calves do the work, with a natural dispersion system via calf manure. It also removes the need to periodically spray or scatter chemicals for fly control, thus saving labor and safeguarding workers, children, and pets on the premises.

And the price is also right. Adding ClariFly costs about $7.00 per ton of calf milk replacer, which results in an expense of about 1/3 of a penny per calf per day. That yields a tremendous return on investment, considering that ClariFly has been proven to produce a 97% reduction in fly populations in calf housing areas.

To most effectively use ClariFly, it should be added to the milk replacer formulation at least 30 days before flies begin to appear. That timing will vary depending on your geography. But after a few seasons, it becomes easier to target the optimal start date. Its inclusion should continue throughout the summer and fall, until cold weather ends fly activity for the season. In warmer climates, it may be advisable to keep ClariFly in the liquid ration all year around.

ClariFly also can be added to TMR rations to control fly populations among older animals on the farm. In all cases, it should be used as one element of a comprehensive, integrated pest management program, which includes additional measures like cleaning up spilled feed, mowing vegetation, hauling manure regularly, and using fly traps in some areas.

ClariFly can be added to all Strauss milk replacers, and your Strauss Feeds representative can advise you how to best incorporate it into your management system. It’s an easy, safe, and affordable way to keep your calf enterprise flying in the right direction.

®ClariFly is a registered trademark of Wellmark International

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