Cattle Lice Eggs

Cattle s winter hair coat provides lice protection and an ideal environment for reproduction he says. The eggs are hard and bone white to brown.

Lice Infestations On Cattle Agriculture And Food

Timing of treatment is important in the control of cattle lice.

Cattle lice eggs. Adult females attach their eggs to hairs which hatch in 5 14 days. Cattle lice cannot live on other species of farm animals. Cattle especially young animals may be infested with multiple species of lice simultaneously.

The life cycle from egg to egg laying adult normally takes between 21 to 22 days. However they may not be as effective on louse eggs. Biting cattle lice are highly mobile as they move when the hair is parted.

Insecticides can be used to treat infected cattle. It is critical the second treatment be applied within those time limits to prevent the newly hatched lice from laying eggs and continuing the infestation as described above. Shortnosed cattle lice are often found in and on the ears along the dewlap and brisket and on the tailhead.

The little blue cattle louse solenopotes capillatus figure 5 is about 1 2 mm in length bluish in color and smallest of the sucking lice species. Adult shortnosed cattle lice are slightly over 1 8 inch long and gray brown in color. They require from 9 19 days usu ally 12 or 13 to hatching.

Diseased or nutritionally stressed animals will develop more severe lice infestations than healthy animals. S capillatus and h eurysternus infestations are more often recognized on mature animals whereas l vituli is more commonly seen on calves and on dairy stock. A second method is to apply lice control to kill adult parasites and follow that with a second treatment 14 to 21 days later to kill the newly hatched lice before they begin laying eggs.

The life cycle is 20 30 days and the entire cycle takes place on the host which makes lice an easier parasite to kill. At the first signs of cooler weather any lice eggs that have survived summer will start to hatch. Adult lice lay eggs the eggs hatch and become nymphs and then mature and become adults about 28 days after hatching.

It often can be found in dense patches on the dewlap muzzle around eyes and neck. The lice and their eggs survive for only a few days if removed from cattle. None of the treatment products kill the eggs and most of them do not have a long enough residual effect to kill the lice that will hatch out after treating.

Frequently lice eggs are more readily seen than lice themselves. Eggs are white in colour and are cemented to the shafts of hairs in clumps. This means that after treatment eggs can still hatch and continue the infestation.

No treatments available kill the eggs so it is important to start treatment early in the season before nymph and adult stages build up. Sucking lice are grey or blue grey and have a pointed head which tends to remain fixed to the skin. For all age classes of cattle stressors such as high stocking density poor feed quality gestational status and underlying health issues.

Lice Treatment In Cattle Grow Solutions