Managing the Creepy Crawlies!
/
Throughout the sanctuary live a wide variety of wildflowers that grace us with their beauty and attract hungry pollinators. However, what we're careful not to attract are the insects and parasites that can threaten the residents.
When newly rescued residents arrive at HEEFS, they live in quarantine for a few weeks. One reason for this is that they almost always arrive with lice. If left untreated, lice can cause anemia, dermatitis, allergic reactions and more, not to mention, the emotional toll it takes on someone who has been painfully itchy for months or years. For these friends, thorough health checks and medical care starts immediately. For the residents who have been living at HEEFS and are not in quarantine, prevention is key in protecting them from unwanted insects and parasites.
Fecal Testing
Once or twice a year, we examine each resident’s stool under a microscope. Having a microscope on site saves the sanctuary many trips to the vet’s office and approximately $50/test or a total of $4,000 annually. Our senior residents may require more frequent fecal testing throughout the year. We also visually inspect someone’s hair, feathers or fur during their 6-week health check, and thoroughly treat them right away if needed.
Medications
We don’t give anyone drugs for parasite prevention, other than Clawdia and Enrique, and here’s the reason why.
For the ruminants, they could eat grass with parasites on it, and the parasites can breed in their body. If we were to immediately treat the residents with anti-parasitic drugs, we’d be creating stronger parasites that are resistant to the treatment. Those residents would then be pooping treatment-resistant parasites back onto the pasture, then other residents who eat the grass would be ingesting more resilient parasites. We don’t want to create pastures that are loaded with drug-resistant parasites.
During fecal testing, we want to ensure the parasite burden stays low. We also cut tall grass, and cross-graze so residents like the pigs or cows can help the goats and sheep, because parasites don’t affect them in the same way.
Bug Spray
Many insects, especially horseflies, can cause Escalade and BJ to run away really fast from their troublemakers; which could lead to an injury if they were to twist their ankles or fall, so we must prevent this from occuring.
Due to his difficult past, Escalade doesn’t like anything touching his face or neck, so we can’t put a fly mask on him or spray him with bug repellent. BJ used to wear a fly mask, but we found that insects would find the tiniest holes and get trapped inside the mask.
To eliminate any stress for Escalade, BJ, Pouty and Denver, we installed a reservoir above the entrance to their barns. The reservoir is filled with a bug repellant called UltraShield, which helps to repel over 70 types of insects. We also add mineral oil to the reservoir so the bug repellant stays on them, and this solution dampens the ropes that hang from it. Throughout the day, as they walk in and out of their barns, the boys walk through the ropes, and their faces, heads, necks and backs get covered in bug spray (but don’t tell them that!).
Unfortunately, many insects are also attracted to the pigs. The best type of cooling, sunblock and bug repellant for the pigs is mud, so we’re sure to keep the bogs filled throughout the spring, summer and fall. For those who don’t visit the bogs as often, we spray them with UltraShield, which they don’t seem to mind.
For our smaller residents, insect bites can lead to too much blood loss, so we have a variety of preventative care in place for them.
Routine Cleaning
Flystrike is extremely dangerous and can become deadly for the smaller residents, so Andrea and her team conduct daily checks and daily cleaning. It’s a different type of individualized care because someone like Sir Denver wouldn’t appreciate us cleaning his hind end. So, for the smaller residents, especially those who have difficulty preening themselves, like Laverne, they receive cleaning throughout the day. If left unclean, Laverne’s hind end could potentially attract flies that would burrow and lay eggs inside her body.
Kevin and his team are always on the lookout for no-nos such as fallen hay or straw; which, when wet, can become the perfect breeding ground for insects. Standing water is also a no-no, so we always have lots of gravel on site to fill potential ponding areas. Also, volunteers diligently clean poop and any food bits from coops, barns, and stalls every day. The pastures and forests are cleaned on a rotation basis every 1-7 days.
To get one step ahead, we situate larvae that mature in a couple days. These natural predators eat fly eggs before they hatch. Since we started doing this, there has been a big decrease in insect bites and insect poop. We also have birdhouses in different areas to help control our insect population.
Through careful monitoring, following protocols, and taking preventative measures, we do our best to ensure everyone has a safe and happy summer, and we hope you do too! It would really bug us if you didn’t.
