Botanically based repellent and insecticidal effects against horn flies and stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae)

Abstract

Horn flies, Haematobia irritans irritans (L.), and stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), are economically important blood-feeding ectoparasites of wild and domesticated animals, including cattle, Bos taurus L. Conventional insecticides are used for control of biting flies on cattle, but safety concerns and the buildup of insecticide resistance indicate the need for alternative control tactics. Many botanical extracts and oils are composed of more than one bioactive compound that can exert different modes of action, delaying or averting resistance. Plant genera that have shown repellency and toxicity against horn flies and stable flies include Allium, Azadirachta, Chrysanthemum, Cinnamomum, Cymbopogon, Derris, Eucalyptus, Festuca, Melaleuca, Melinus, Mentha, Nepeta, Nicotiana, Pelargonium, Pogostemon, Ricinus, Rosa, Syzygium, Vitex, and Zyloxanthum. Other botanically based methods for biting fly control have been investigated, such as the use of fatty acids, soybean trypsin inhibitors, and fungal endophytes on forage grasses. Many of the plantbased control methods have been shown to have strong effects against the two biting fly species, but work has only just begun on identifying and, in particular, developing botanically based tactics.