Residual activity of microencapsulated permethrin against stable flies on lactating dairy cows

Emulsifiable concentrate and microencapsulated formulations of permethrin were evaluated for residual activity against stable flies on lactating dairy cows. Cows were treated in the field with each formulation and hair was clipped from the leg and shoulder area, and bioassayed at 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 14 days after treatment. Significantly more stable flies died when exposed to hair sampled 3, 4 and 7 days after treatment from the shoulder than from the lower leg. Analysis with gas chromatography of hair samples showed no detectable permethrin residues on shoulder or leg hair 72 h after treatment with the emulsifiable concentrate formulation. Microencapsulated permethrin was still detectable on hair sampled from both locations 7 days after treatment. The permethrin concentration on the leg hair was approximately 50% of the shoulder hair concentration after 3 days, with the leg hair residue dropping to 31% of shoulder level after 7 days.