VetPestX: Finally! An Online, Searchable, Pesticide Label Database Just for Pests of Animals

Almost all online pesticide databases contain crop-specific product labels; very few include products labeled for animal use. A single online location for veterinary pesticide labels was needed. Led by Alec Gerry of the University of California at Riverside (UCR), veterinary entomologists from California, Washington, New Mexico, and Oklahoma contributed information on animal pesticide products registered in five western states (CA, WA, OR, ID, NM) and OK to a new, online, searchable, veterinary pesticide labels database named VetPestX, developed and maintained on UC Riverside\u27s website. Animal producers and owners requesting pesticide information to manage pests are now routinely directed to VetPestX

Using Visual and Digital Imagery to Quantify Horn Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Densities

The horn fly, Haematobia irritans L. (Diptera: Muscidae), is a persistent pest of cattle globally. A threshold of 200 flies per animal is considered the standard management goal; however, determining when that threshold has been exceeded is difficult using visual estimates that tend to overestimate the actual fly densities and are, at best, subjective. As a result, a more reliable and durable method of determining horn fly densities is needed. Here, we describe the methods commonly used to quantify horn fly densities including visual estimates and digital photography, and provide examples of quantification software and the prospect for computer automation methods

Horn Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) - Biology, Management, and Future Research Directions

The horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans (L.), is one of the most important external parasites of cattle in North America and elsewhere. Horn fly adults have an intimate association with cattle, their primary host. With their often-high numbers and by feeding up to 38 times per day per fly, horn flies stress cattle. The resulting productivity loss is valued at more than 2.3 billion USD in the United States. Insecticides are commonly used to mitigate direct injury from feeding and indirect injury from disease transmission. This paper discusses horn fly biology, distribution, and management. Emphasis is on promising new approaches in novel insecticides, repellents, biological control, vaccines, animal genetics, and sterile insect technology that will lead to effective preventative tactics and the integration of smart technologies with horn fly management. We conclude with a discussion of research needs necessary to shift horn fly integrated pest management to an emphasis on preventative tactics and the precision use of reactive techniques