INSECTS INJURIOUS TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS, ETC. 669 



Control of Lice 



Lice may be killed by the use of dips as recommended for 

 other parasites. Spraying the animals with nicotine or kerosene 

 emulsion will be effective provided all parts are wet with the 

 spray clear to the skin. Some danger of colds to the animals 

 must be considered when they are being dipped or sprayed. 



Sulphur or sulphur and lard, thoroughly applied, will kill lice. 



Experiments at the West Virginia Station have shown that 

 lice on an animal can be killed by the use of blue-ointment. 

 This is applied over a small area, two inches wide and six inches 

 long, on the side of the neck or elsewhere, so it can not be reached 

 by the animal. A small amount of the ointment is thoroughly 

 rubbed into the skin. In a short time the lice disappear. Just 

 what the action is, is not known. Precautions must be taken to 

 keep the animals from licking the parts treated. This is easy 

 in the case of hogs and horses, but more difficult with cattle which 

 often lick each other. It will always be well to cover the treated 

 parts with burlap, fastening it securely so that it can not be 

 rubbed off and replacing it immediately if it becomes loosened. 



The Sheep Tick * 



The Sheep Tick is not a tick at all except in general appear- 

 ance, but a wingless fly. The insect 

 spends the entire life on the sheep, suck- 

 ing blood from the host for nourish- 

 ment. Development in this group is 

 unusual, the young being retained in 

 the bodies of the females as larvae until 

 ready to pupate and being deposited not 

 as eggs but as pupae, which are glued 

 to the wool of the sheep. The effect 

 of these parasites on the host is to lessen 

 their vitality. This is generally in- 

 dicated by the condition of the wool, 

 which is rough and scraggly. 



Sheep ticks can be controlled by 

 dipping the animals in Blackleaf 40 diluted 1 to 1000. This is 

 best done at shearing time, as when the wool is long it is almost 



* Melophagus ovinus L. Family Hippoboscidce. Order Diptera. See 

 Marion Imes, Farmers' Bulletin 798, U. S. Dept. of Agr. 



FIG. 589. The Sheep Tick. 

 Ky. Agr. Exp. Sta. 



