With the New World screwworm threat still looming south of the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas is reintroducing a 1970s method to control the pest: Swormlure bait.
The bait attracts adult screwworm flies by using synthetic chemicals that mimic fresh wounds and is often combined with insecticides to kill the flies.
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“We cannot wait for sterile flies alone to turn the tide,” said Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller in a recent statement. “That’s why we’re applying a little cowboy logic and bringing back Swormlure, now with an enhanced formula that’s more powerful and effective than ever.”
These efforts by the Texas Department of Agriculture follow USDA's pause of reopening southern livestock ports and its plans to open a sterile fly dispersal facility in South Texas.
The newest version of this bait is known as Swormlure-5. The Texas Department of Agriculture’s press release said it would cooperate with USDA, the Mexican government and “other state and federal partners” to deploy the Swormlure traps.
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