printStock Journal Technical Column, July 2023
Sheep lice can cause significant economic impacts through lost production but also through cost to control. If lice are left unmanaged, they can cause reductions in wool cut of up to 1 kilogram per head (Paraboss, 2022). Lice may also impact colour, staple length and strength, and possibly also the skin value. It is also an offence under the Livestock Regulations 2013 to present lice infested sheep at a market, and to allow lice infested sheep to stray.
A new low dose oral lice treatment has been released that provides producers flexibility when it comes to treating their flock. The product - Flexolt®, can be used on both adult sheep and lambs from 6kg body weight, with any length of wool. This product provides alternative options for how and when producers can administer a sheep lice treatment.
Flexolt contains a novel active ingredient that works systemically from the inside out. Lice control is not affected by length of wool, giving producers the flexibility to treat off-shears, short and long wool sheep and lambs with a single oral dose.
Field trials across Australia were undertaken as part of the product development to prove that the product is effective across different sheep operations, locations and wool lengths. As well as delivering excellent lice control performance Flexolt has a high safety margin and farm friendly withholding periods.
Flexolt offers producers a choice in their annual lice treatment program – treat at shearing or find another time. Producers are no longer bound to shearing for effective lice control and this opens up many timepoints across the farming calendar to help minimise common management challenges such as labour, weather and time. Flexolt reduces lice control challenges such as split shearing where separately treated mobs have the potential to spread infestation between them throughout the year. Now, all management mobs can be treated at once regardless of wool length. While newly purchased sheep can be treated and quarantined from the rest of the flock, with no shearing required.
Flexolt helps avoid problems that can affect externally applied lice products. It is unaffected by rain, helping to minimise possible application delays and importantly, lambs at foot (lambs from 6kg body weight) can be treated regardless of wool length and any poorly shorn sheep can be treated effectively without reinfesting the flock.
More information on lice www.liceboss.com.au or PIRSA Website