Effective Control of Parasites


Things to do at housing

Steps you should be taking now to protect your herd

Beef

  • Check if youngstock needs worming for gut worms at housing using faecal egg counts (FECs). If infection risk is high, use a product that contains a macrocyclic lactone (ML) to kill off inhibited Ostertagia worms to reduce the risk of Type ll ostertagiosis later in the winter. Adult cattle should not require any treatment for gut worms.
  • There is no natural immunity to liver fluke, so all ages of stock must be assessed for treatment where there is a history, or risk of infection. Check fluke forecasts and abattoir returns to monitor presence of fluke
  • Blood test a group of first season grazing calves (as sentinels) two weeks after housing to check whether they have been in contact with liver fluke in the summer

Dairy

  • Check if youngstock needs worming for gut worms at housing using faecal egg counts (FECs). If infection risk is high, use a product that contains macrocyclic lactone (ML) to kill off inhibited Ostertagia worms to reduce the risk of Type ll ostertagiosis later in the winter. Adult cattle should not require any treatment for gut worms
  • Take a bulk milk sample to test if the milking herd has been exposed to liver fluke.
  • There is no natural immunity to liver fluke, so all ages of stock must be assessed for treatment where there is a history, or risk of infection. Check fluke forecasts and use abattoir returns to monitor presence of fluke

Resources

Vet, academic or researcher?

Take a look in Resources for more detailed information on all topics.

Anthelmintics are an important part of the toolkit farmers have available to control parasites in or on their cattle.  To ensure these products keep working effectively it is vital to use them in the correct way.

Products should be chosen to specifically target the parasite and life cycle stage present, the time of year and previous treatment history.  Even before a product is administered it is vital to ensure it is stored correctly and used before its expiry date. Dosing equipment should be calibrated before a treatment session.

Cattle should be dosed according to their individual liveweight if possible.  Under-dosing can lead to increased selection of drug resistant parasites and over-dosing may require adjustments to withdrawal periods and can cause toxicities in extreme cases. Adherence to dairy and beef withdrawal periods following treatment is vital.

If there are any concerns that a treatment has not worked, talk to your vet or animal health adviser about a post-treatment efficacy check.

    Cows Resources

  1. Integrated parasite control on cattle farms (COWS Guide, September 2023)
  2. Responsible use and disposal of parasite treatments (COWS, December 2022)
  3. COWS Guide to the effective use of cattle wormers. Worming - have you got it right? (Farmer leaflet updated Summer 2019)
  4. COWS Guide to taking a faecal sample to test for parasites (Summer 2019)
  5. Administering wormers anthelmintics effectively (COWS Guide, Dec 2014)
  6. Worming - have you got it right (Welsh) (Farmer leaflet)

    External Resources

  1. Parasite Control Guide 2022 (AHDB, A comprehensive list of products for the control of internal and external parasites in cattle and sheep)
  2. Annual review of Literature and Horizon Scanning Report 2019. Animal and Plant Health Agency Parasitology Group (November 2020)
  3. Annual review of Literature and Horizon Scanning Report 2018. Animal and Plant Health Agency Parasitology Group (November 2019)
  4. Farmers: check efficacy of treatment (Article for farmers)