Factors to bear in mind when dipping livestock

By Shane Brody / 13 August 2024 | 5:00 am

It is important to consider the intervals at which you dip livestock in relation to the specific season in which ticks become more or less, writes Shane Brody.

Photo: FW Archive

Tick-borne and other vector-transmitted diseases can be very costly to livestock farmers.

South Africa, in terms of greatly varying biomes, climatic zones, and land altitudes, is a land mass with different parasite challenges. Heartwater, for example, is a potentially deadly livestock disease caused by ticks.

In respect of counteracting pests such as the bont tick that spread diseases, farmers need to introduce biosecurity measures when transporting livestock to and from heartwater areas.

This can be undertaken by ensuring that livestock are effectively dipped some days before being transported, and it’s wise to keep recently treated animals in some form of quarantine area or camp for a few days to allow the shedding of parasites in these areas only.

There are other livestock diseases such as redwater that are caused by the Rhipicephalus genus of ticks. This disease is found predominantly in high-rainfall areas.

Another tick-borne disease, Karoo paralysis, is spread by the Ixodes rubicundus tick, and this causes lameness in the hindquarters or of the entire body. Other dangerous livestock diseases caused by ticks include babesiosis and anaplasmosis.

Dipping programmes

Many farmers have asked me about dipping programmes.

In respect of the novice farmer who may not be able to gauge when tick covering on livestock is at concerning levels (particularly on hairier animals), it is important to consider the intervals at which you dip livestock in relation to the specific season in which ticks become more or less.

Generally, in high tick-density areas you should dip every two weeks during the rainy season (October to May), and during the winter months when it’s drier and colder, you should be dipping every three weeks.

At the very least, in the wetter summer months, dip once per month, and at the end of every second month in winter.

You should be very careful to have the correct concentration of dip in relation to water when undertaking plunge/immersion and spray dipping.

Dip that is too concentrated can lead to toxicity, and when it is too weak, it won’t necessarily kill ticks and lice, and this can also lead to parasites building resistance to the active ingredients in the dip.

When spraying livestock, you need to ensure that the animal is made wet right down to the skin and over as large an area as possible of the body, including the belly area and under the tail.

With plunge dipping, animals should have their bodies submerged for at least 30 seconds (not the head, which is only temporarily submersed, as this can lead to drowning), so that the mixture can penetrate through the coat down to the skin.

Pour-on dips have become popular as they do not require large amounts of water, and the concentration of the active ingredient has been perfectly calculated by manufacturers.

Never be tempted to mix your own pour-on dip by using liquids such as sunflower oil as you may not get the concentrations correct, and some dips are designed to be water- rather than oil-soluble.

Some modern pour-on dips also include active ingredients that act against internal parasites. Ask a representative of your local farmer supply store to advise you on these new-generation dips.

When using pour-on dips, use the advised quantity on sheep by splitting the recommended millimetres via placing lets under the tail and in the ‘armpits’, while when dipping goats and cattle, you should pour the recommended dip quantity from the top of the head to the base of the tail at a constant flow.

Generally, the active ingredients in dips are called acaricides and pyrethroids. Amitraz, flumethrin and fipronil are commonly used ingredients.

It is important to know about these ingredients because they may not only have greatly varying meat and milk withdrawal time spans (not being able to utilise milk or meat from treated animals), but they act on parasites in different ways.

If you always use the same dip, parasites may become resistant to the active ingredient, and treatments may become less and less effective.

By changing dips and active ingredients from time to time, you effectively confuse parasites and they are not given time to build up resistance against the varying remedies that you’re using.