Adults are wingless flies, grey to brown in colour, about 6 millimetres long when fully grown. Sheep keds suck blood from their host, causing irritation and loss of or damage to wool due to rubbing. Lambs may be stunted by the presence of many sheep keds. Summary of Life History Adult females retain the larvae in their bodies until they are almost fully grown. When the young emerge from the adult they are attached to the wool, and soon pupate as a brown capsule, emerging as adults in about 3 weeks.
Reproduction is continuous with populations peaking in the winter and decreasing in summer.
Keds transfer from sheep to sheep through contact. Control Recommendations Shearing will remove many keds and pupae. Apply treatments after shearing for best results. Once keds have been eradicated from a flock, prevent reinfestation by introducing only clean sheep into the flock. Return to Livestock Pests Factsheet Copyright Province of British Columbia All Rights Reserved.