Tennessee and Texas Cow-Calf Producers' Perception of Livestock Pests

Cattle producers deal with many pests affecting their cattle that negatively affect their herds and impose a variety of damages (Smith et al. 2022a; Brewer et al. 2021). Brewer et al. (2021) state that within the United States, the economic loss associated with horn flies alone is more than $2.3 billion annually. Pests of livestock can cause direct damage to animals by being a nuisance or directly blood feeding on animals. Indirectly, these pests can transmit pathogens, and some pests can cause peripheral damage via misuse of management decisions or quarantines. The most common pests of pastured cattle are lice, ticks, and flies; including horn flies (Haematobia irritans (L.)), face flies (Musca autumnalis De Geer), stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans (L.)), house flies (Musca domestica (L.)) and cattle grubs/heel flies (Hypoderma bovis (L.) or H. lineatum (Villers)) (Williams 2009). Horn flies and stable flies will blood feed on animals, which annoys, alters grazing habits, decreases milk production and weight gains in pastured cattle and allows for transmission of pathogens causing mastitis (recently reviewed by Brewer et al. 2021, Rochon et al. 2021). House and face flies are nuisance flies that feed on host exudates, and, when bacteria are present, these flies can also transmit bacteria causing pink eye or other infectious diseases (Geden et al. 2021, Trout Fryxell et al. 2021). Many producers will use insect growth regulators to control nematodes, but non-target control of lice, cattle grubs and heel flies occurs with those products, leaving many researchers to wonder if these non-target pests are a problem for the industry (e.g., developed resistance, pest in organic operations) (Lysyk and Colwell 1996). Ticks not only blood feed on animals, but can cause anemia from feeding in high numbers, inject a toxin causing tick paralysis and transmit pathogens causing disease (Hooker et al. 1912). While all these different pests can be found in the same cattle operation, management for these pests are dependent on insecticides that often target all the pest species; notably, this is not a sustainable method and will lead to insecticide resistance. While we know producers are managing livestock pests (Smith et al. 2022b), we are not sure which pests they consider most important. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the perceived impact of different livestock pests, specifically arthropods, on cattle operations. We investigated this question to document the perceptions of cow-calf producers in two different regions of the United States (Tennessee and Texas).