Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1895-05-31
Sl-EEP FLY PESTS,
The Different Kinds and How to Prevent
Their RaVages.

AHeIT IhhSdSess /
Many possible future diseases of sheep
may be avoided by proper care Mt this
season Of the year. July and August arc
always fertile in danger to these ami
mails. One Of the worst pests is the CAD
fly (EstruS oyis). This is an insect
whose wings spread over All inch and it
has "a stout body over half an inch i'll
length. They disturb the sheep in pas
lures by the efforts they made to deposit
their eggs upon the animals nostrils.
When they succeed in their efforts, the
sheep become frantic and race violently
over the pasture, aud sometimes injure
themselves by o~vcrheating. Where this
hy abounds the sheep crowd together and
stop feeding, holding their noses to the
ground and stamping with their feet.
The grub, when hatched from the egg,
crawls up the nostril and lodges in the.
sinuscs of the head. where it remains.
feeding upon the nucus secreted by the
membranes, until the following spring.
One can we'll imagine what a serious af-
fiction this must be to the sheep, to
have worms crawling about i'll the head.
While they alc not often the cause of
death, yet they remain in the head all
winter, only TO crawl down the nostrilS
in the spring and on the earth to be
transformed into flies again.
The animals certainly cannot prosper
under this condition as they otherwise
would. There seems to be no remedy for
grub i'll the head. The sinuses are so
deep and winding that it is impossible to
reach the @rubs with any insccticide,
Efforts to benefit the animals as regard
grub i'll the head must be in the line Of
prevention. If no eggs are deposited on
the nostrils, there will be no g1ubs in
the head. If sheep can have access to Il
thick woods. or to Il bush lot where
there is sufficient shade, the yudfy will
trouble very little.
The most comfortable prevention is to
have a shecphouse of light material
made on runners, so it can be moved
from place to place Oh field to field.
This is inclosed all about except Il pas
sage at each end, which seems to create
a draft Of air through it. 1t is always
cool and dark. Sheep always seek this
when these flies are abroad, and only
feed nights and mornings, when flies are
%quiescent. II is IL sure preventive to
keep their noses daubed with tar. but
this soon wears off and has to be renew
ed about once Il week, involving more
trouble than the average t1Ockmaster j.
willing TO take, When l kept sheep,
had a way OF tarring their noses which
seemed to lac ciTcctual. | had u long To-
i'll the pasture field with two inch augcl
holes bored III its upper surface, about
three inches deep. Into these holes 2 ol
2la inches OF salt WAS put and tn" edges
of the holes were kept smcurcl with tar.
The sheep would have salt, and III get
ting it they had to dauh their noses
enough to keep the gadhy away When
these flies bother. sheep run with THEN
noses to tho ground, but I never saw
mine do this when | had Il log in opera.
ton. 1t is not Il good shepherd who vii
permit this fly to bother.
There are several other kinds Of flies
which trouble sheep under certain con
ditions, and these conditions are. whel
VI "a / Z VI "
filthy mOm Giulrh"a. These flies dcpO&!'
their eggs i'll the wounds CA filth un(
they hatch into muggUtS within -
hours. IL the wound or the filth be cX
%tensive, the magguts Will SOON end tn,
animals life unless they are destroyed.
These flies are wonderful prolific. The
ovarics Of IL single specimen If the spe
cieS ~Sarcophaga clmaria have b6cl
found to contain 20. 900 eggs. As thcst
eggs hatch SO soon when deposited il
suitable Matching conditions. one ncrt
not wonder where all the muggotS come
from.' An application Of pine tar Oh
kerosene will destroy the mu-gotS
Flocks should be seen and counted often
because when IL sheep gets maggoty it il
very apt to retire to some corner by it
self and ''givc up the ghost Sheer
never try to doalything to relieve them
selves Of this difficulty. -Dr. Galu
Wilson.