The majority of cattle will be in after the recent heavy rains, and with that they should be dosed to stay ahead of any parasites.

Farmers should be dosing cattle for worms, fluke, and lice if they have not already done so.

Considering many cattle were housed back in November, and even October on some farms, dosing has probably been carried out already.

However, these farms may need repeat treatments for parasites such as lice and mange mites.

Lice can be considered a normal inhabitant on cattle.

However, as the cattle are in close contact for the housing period and their coats get thicker, infestations can quickly and easily spread through the herd and become a productive and financial issue.

Infestations can also be a big problem in out-wintered animals, as they grow thick coats that lice can shelter in during damp and wet conditions.

An infestation has the potential to cause significant disruption to the animal's performance through discomfort and reduced weight gain.

Lice

Biting lice and sucking lice are the two types common types of the parasite that affect beef cattle, with farmers needing to understand the difference in order to treat the cattle properly.

Biting lice are typically found around the head, neck, shoulders, back, and rump of the cattle.

However, they can spread down the animal's sides and cause severe itching in these areas.

These parasites typically feed on their hosts skin, hair, as well as any other debris.

Meanwhile, sucking lice can be found in the same areas as well as around the animal's eyes, ears, and nostrils.

Suckling lice have piercing mouthparts which allow them to feed on the blood and fluid of cattle.

Understanding what type of louse is in the herd is important for treatment, as some products treat one type of lice but not the other while other products will control both types but not the eggs.

Symptoms

Cattle who are heavily infected will begin displaying characteristics such as intense itching and rubbing or licking.

This is typically followed by inflamed skin and hair loss, with sucking lice even causing anaemia.

The constant itching can also cause skin damage to the cattle, which allows secondary bacterial infection to form.

If a herd of cattle do begin to develop these conditions, you should contact your local vet to determine the best course of action for treatment.

There are two common types of products on the Irish market, spot-on or pour-on synthetic pyrethroids, or injectable or pour-on avermectins.

These injectable macrocyclic lactones (MLs) are available in products such as ivermectin, eprinomectin, moxidectin, or doramectin.

Injectable ML's are typically used for sucking lice, while pour-on MLs will treat both sucking and biting lice.