Flies Menaces in Dairy Farm and its Strategies for Prevention and Control- An Overview

Abstract

India being a tropical country faces high fly attack problem during summer season that adversely affects dairy animal health and performance. Fly attack may compromise animal welfare and cause monetary losses due to distress suffered by the animals, feeding disruptions and decreased milk production. Conventional insecticides are used for flies control, but safety alarms and buildup of insecticide resistance indicate the need for alternative control strategies. Thus, to deal with the issue of insecticide resistance many plant extracts and oils are being exploited which composed of bioactive compound that can exert different modes of action, averting resistance and these are Allium, Azadirachta, Cymbopogon, Eucalyptus, Pogostemon, Mentha, Ricinus. Use of non-host semiochemicals and kairomones baited on the traps are the other control methods that are also effective against the various fly species. Therefore, with the appropriate use of botanical extracts, oils, non-host semiochemicals and kairomones problem of various fly species can be controlled significantly without affecting overall welfare of dairy animals.