Please follow the links below to find out all you need to know about biological insect control:
Know your enemy the fly:
An adult female can lay up to 900 eggs in +- 30 days. The adults average 10 mm in length. Eggs are white, elongated and about 1.2 mm in length. Larvae are yellowish-white maggots up to 12 mm in length. Under ideal conditions fly pupae develop within 7days. From 2 days later flies appear completing the fly life cycle within as short as 10 days.
Know your friend the parasitoid:
Muscidifurax raptor is a minute, black wasp, about 1-2 mm in length. It is nocturnal, ant-like and prefers to walk rather than to fly. They can easily disperse up to 50 meters. This parasitoid can parasitize a number of fly species e.g. housefly, stable fly and other filth flies.
Directions for use:
The best results are obtained where fly control is addressed in an integrated program i.e.
- Limit fly breeding sites to the minimum.
- Control adult flies. Besides being a nuisance, they lay thousands of eggs
- Follow a regular release program of BISA parasitic wasps to suppress the hatching of flies and the subsequent need for adult fly control.
The BISA product is parasitised fly pupae, which contains developing parasitic wasps. These wasps will hatch as adults on your property who in turn will lay their eggs on new fly pupae, killing developing flies in the process. Please treat the BISA product as live organisms and prevent exposure to potentially lethal conditions such as high temperatures (in closed vehicles), direct sunlight, poisons, drowning, etc.
Integrated fly control program:
There can be no doubt that an effective fly control programme is vital for successful animal production systems. Erratic,short term efforts to control adult flies is almost certain to fail and is at most a sporadic waste of money. It is recommended that livestock producers develop an integrated fly control programme for their specific conditions. This will enable producers, the livestock industry and the wider community to reap significant production, animal & human welfare, and enviromental benefits. Parasitic wasps for biological fly control is now commercially available in South Africa. It should be included in an integrated approach towards fly control for cost-effective long term control of flies, while minimising insecticide usage.
Click here for Frequently asked questions
Lucitrap for blowflies:
Blowfly attacks cost the country approximately R 40 million a year. An ewe that has been attacked by blowflies will not mate easily and will produce less wool of a lower quality. She will also have to receive high cost individual treatment.
Nylon Wool Packs:
To stay competitive in the world market, it is imperative that South African wool, in line with global trends should be marketed in Nylon wool packs. The South African Wool Industry has taken a stand on this issue and decided that only nylon packs would be acceptable as from July 2007.
