If you take a moment to look from your pickup, you’ll notice cows crowded under a single shade tree, calves constantly switching their tails, yearlings stomping as if the ground is burning, and a bull rubbing his face on a post. At first, this might seem like typical summer irritation. But when cattle spend more time battling flies than grazing, resting, nursing, or gaining weight, that irritation starts to cost you money.By July in West Texas and the Southern Plains, fly pressure usually gets intense. The first set of fly tags might be losing effectiveness. Back rubbers could be dry, dust bags might be overlooked, and feed-through products may not be paired with good sanitation. Face flies can spread pinkeye through the herd, and stable flies often bother legs and bellies, which can go unnoticed. Plus, heat stress makes all these fly problems even worse.
That’s why you shouldn’t assume your fly control program is working in July just because you took action in May. Fly control needs regular checking, adjusting, and management, just like any other part of herd health. The aim isn’t to eliminate every fly—that’s impossible. Instead, you want to keep fly numbers low enough so cattle stay comfortable and can keep eating, nursing, and gaining weight.
A good fly control program isn’t measured by what you buy, but by how your cattle behave.
