Flies are not only a big irritation for people on farms. They also hamper production by harassing animals and making them restless, and they carry all kinds of disease. Fortunately, BISA (Bio-Insectaries South Africa) can help you with a solution to this problem. Their biological product is effective, and safe for people and livestock.
BISA was established in 2005 with the main purpose of controlling fly populations. An adult female fly can lay up to 900 eggs in 30 days, therefore their numbers can increase rapidly.
How it works
The fly parasitoid Muscidifurax raptor is a black wasp, about 1 to 2 mm in length. It is nocturnal, ant-like and prefers to walk rather than to fly. They can easily disperse up to 50 metres. This parasitoid can parasitise a number of fly species such as the housefly, stable fly and other flies.
The adult parasitoid stings the fly pupa, killing it in the process and then lays an egg in the pupal case. When the egg hatches, the larva feeds on the dead fly pupa. The wasps emerge in 19 to 21 days and begins its search for fly pupa on which to feed and deposit eggs. Females may feed without depositing eggs, killing the fly pupa by mutilation.
Parasitised pupae can be placed in specially prepared containers on the fly breeding site. These containers protect the pupae against predators and adverse environmental conditions until the hatching of the wasps.
Pieter Steenkamp, a farmer near Middelburg, Mpumalanga, solved his fly problem with BISA’s seasonal programme.
He keeps cattle in a feedlot. “BISA comes every six weeks to place their parasitic wasps directly on my farm at my feedlot to suppress the hatching of flies.
“You will not ever have no flies at all, but this programme drastically reduce their numbers. It is better than to spray chemicals,” Pieter added.
Pieter is also very impressed with the service he gets for BISA and recommends them for other farmers with fly problems.
Advantages of biological control
– It is nature’s way of keeping a balance.
– Insects become resistant to chemicals after a period of time.
– Chemicals kill more than flies. Beneficial species such as beetles, spiders as well as insect feeding birds are also affected by chemicals.
– Everyone is looking for a continuous and not a temporary solution.
– Parasitoides will increase naturally if given the chance and are not harmful to any other natural organisms but the fly. It is cost effective in the long term and very user friendly.
– The release of parasitic wasps is a clean and easy means of controlling flies.
The adult parasitoid stings the fly pupa, killing it in the process and then lays an egg in the pupal case.
The BISA product is live organisms and must not be exposed to potentially lethal conditions such as high temperatures (in closed vehicles), direct sunlight, poisons, drowning, et cetera.
With proper application and follow-up releases, significant results with fewer flies should be visible within three months. Contact BISA at bisa@bioinsectsa.com for more information.
