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Tools Instructions
Short wool decision support system (DSS)
This program estimates the probability that a property has lice at shearing, based on
(a) the probability that they had lice at the previous shearing and the treatment used failed to eradicate;
(b) the probability that sheep that were purchased had lice and the lice were not noticed or not eradicated if a treatment was applied;
(c) the probability that lice entered the property on strays.
These possible sources of lice are estimated and combined to give the overall probability that lice are present at the current shearing. Note that if lice have actually been seen then there is no need to use this program, just go ahead and treat them thoroughly. However, in this case the program may help to examine possible sources of infestation.
Brief Instructions for Short Wool Lice DSS
Click on the ‘Property’ tab and enter the State and region. The region sets the regional lice incidence, but if you are aware of a better estimate for you local area you can change it. Then click on the next tab sheet, labelled ‘Background’. Work through each tab in turn answering all the questions relevant to your situation.
On the ‘Background’ tab sheet. if some sheep are rubbing you should click the link ‘Check Rubbing’ before going on to other sections. If that module suggests a high probability that lice caused the rubbing then you need to treat for lice at the next shearing.
On the ‘Treatments’ tab you can get a more thorough assessment of the effectiveness of the treatment method used by clicking on the “Treatments” link to open a new page in a separate module. If you do this then write down the estimated probability of eradication from the Treatments DSS module, close that link, then enter the result back in this module. (Sorry, the two modules cannot transfer that value automatically.)
On the tabs for ‘New rams’, ‘New ewes‘ and ‘New other’ sheep, if there were no purchases in these categories then enter zero and leave the rest of that sheet blank. Similarly, on the tabs about strays if there are no neighbours in that category then leave that sheet blank.
The tabs ‘Strays no lice’, ‘Strays unknown’ and ‘Strays lousy’ check for the chance of strays coming from neighbours that are (a) believed to have no lice in their sheep, (b) are of unknown lice status, or (c) are known to often have lousy sheep, respectively. The same questions are asked on each tab because you may have different fence quality to different neighbours or you may know which category of neighbour your stray sheep came from. If there are no neighbours in any particular category then enter zero for number of neighbours and move straight to the next tab.
You can click the ‘Calculate’ button at any time and the program will estimate the probability that you have lice from the answers given so far. It is not necessary to continue to check Tabs and answer questions after it is obvious that lice are probably present in the flock and that treatment will be required.
If you want to change any data already entered, click on the required tab, make the change and click ‘Calculate’ again. Do not use ‘Back’ on your browser or you go back out of the program and have to start again.
The ‘Report’ tab sheet summarises your situation, may offer some brief comments on your risk of lice from various sources and suggest methods of reducing the risk.
If you decide to treat, use the ‘Check Products’ link for a list of registered products. This will open in a new page so you can close the ‘Products’ module when you finish and continue where you were.
Long wool decision support system (DSS)
This program estimates the cost of treating sheep with lice in long wool or waiting until after the next shearing when eradication will be possible. It considers the amount of wool damage that has probably already occurred, the further damage that might occur if no treatment is applied and the costs of treatment if one is applied. It considers the options of
(a) no treatment, or
(b) treat all the sheep with any of the treatments registered for that length wool.
Brief Instructions for Long wool DSS
‘Property’ tab
Click on this tab and enter the date you last checked the sheep (Inspection date). In the ‘Problem’ box click on all of the relevant options. If none of these are a problem then you do not need to work through the rest of this program.
If you have seen sheep rubbing, but have not seen lice and do not know that there has been contact with lousy sheep then you should click the ‘Check Rubbing’ link to decide if it is likely that lice caused the rubbing. This opens in a new page so you can close the ‘Rubbing DSS’ when finished and carry on where you were.
If the only problem is sheep rubbing and it is not caused by lice then you do not need to go any further. If you decide that the rubbing is due to lice or you have seen lice or know of contact with lousy sheep then click on the ‘Mobs’ tab.
‘Mobs’ tab
Enter the date the sheep were last shorn and the date when you expect to shear them next. Then enter the normal wool value in $/head (i.e. the expected value when they are not affected by lice). Then enter the mob size.
If you have seen some sheep with signs of wool rubbing then enter the number in the flock that are rubbing. If you then click on the ‘% Rubbed’ box, the program will display the % of the mob rubbing. If this is not right then go back and change the number rubbed. You do not need an exact number, but it should be within about 10% to give reasonable estimates of wool damage. You can now click ‘Calculate’.
If you marked the Problem ‘Contact with Lousy Sheep’ but did not mark ‘Rubbing observed’ then you need to indicate roughly when the contact occurred and when the lousy sheep was removed or will be removed. Enter the dates in the ‘Contact with lousy sheep’ box. The date of removal can be some time in the future if you haven’t removed the lousy sheep yet. The date of entry will be a guess based on when you think the sheep might have entered the flock. You can now click ‘Calculate’.
The ‘Report’ tab gives a summary of the most cost-effective alternatives and related advice.
Ewe and Lamb treatments
This is for use when you have decided that breeding ewes have lice and need to be treated, but you are not sure whether or not their lambs may also need treatment or what type of treatment is required.
Brief Instructions for Ewe and Lamb Treatments
On the first screen you indicate whether the ewes require treatment in short wool, to eradicate lice after shearing or in long wool, to control lice until the next shearing.
Then you click on the tabs to work through one or two screens of questions to determine whether the ewes are likely to transfer lice to their lambs.
As soon as the program has enough information it will advise whether or not the lambs need to be treated, and what treatments will be most appropriate for the ewes and the lambs to limit transfer of lice between them and to other sheep on the property. The report will appear at the bottom of the screen, not on a separate tab.
Products
This program displays a list of the products currently (or recently) available for the control of lice or flystrike. The list can show all products registered and available for the selected method. The list shows the name of the product, active ingredient, pest treated, withhold periods and export slaughter intervals (for meat), main pack size and approximate cost.
Brief Instructions for Products
The list of products is subdivided by treatment method and you can click buttons on the left to see each treatment group.
Spray-on treatments such as Vetrazin spray-on are considered to be backliners and are grouped in either short or long wool backliners as appropriate.
You can set the program to show only those chemical groups you wish to consider. It can show products for both lice and for flystrike control.
If a product you have used or want to use does not appear on the list, it may be because it is no longer available or no longer registered.
Click on ‘Update display’ to get a new list after changing the option selected.
You can sort on any column by clicking on the underlined heading for that column.
WoolRes
This program estimates the pesticide residue expected from any product, based on the method of application, the wool length at the time of treatment, your location and the time to next shearing. The expected residue can be compared to different possible target levels (for example EU eco-label) and the probability of exceeding the target is shown.
Brief Instructions for WoolRes
Click on the ‘WoolRes’ tab to get to the main screen where you enter details of treatments used.
‘Mob Name’ is optional and only needed if you want to print the result and relate it later to a specific mob. You need to indicate your State because the rate of breakdown of the pesticides depends on the climate.
Enter the date the mob was last shorn, the date they were or will be treated and when they will next be shorn after the treatment.
Select a method of treatment from the drop down list, then the actual product used from the product drop down list. You must select method before product. (Spray-on treatments are in the backliner list.)
You can then select a pesticide residue target from the drop down list or you can write in your own target if you have one for a specific market. Use the Eco-label target if no other specific target is applicable.
Click the ‘Calculate’ button to work out the expected pesticide residue left in the wool at next shearing and the probability that you will exceed the specified target. Pesticide breakdown depends on a range of factors, not all of which can be considered here so the result will show as an average and a fairly wide range of possible values. It is not always possible to be certain that the result will be above or below a specified limit but the result is an indication of risk.
Treatment decision support system (DSS)
This program works through all the major issues that are important in influencing the effectiveness of the treatment method you have used. It assesses the probability that you eradicated lice if they were present at the last shearing. You could also use it before treatment to check and improve your application method. The program can be used on its own or as part of the short wool program.
All questions relate to a single treatment. It does not combine information from previous treatments with the current treatment.
Brief Instructions for Treatment DSS
On the ‘Treatment’ tabsheet enter the reason for treatment, then the chemical group and treatment method used. If the method was a dip then indicate which type of dip was used. (If not a dip, then any entry for dip type is ignored.)
Answer the questions on the tabsheets, ‘All’ and ‘Ewes+Lambs’.
Then click on any other tabs that are relevant to the method used. Ignore tab that relate to methods or chemicals you did not use.
When you have answered all the questions click ‘Calculate’ to determine the probability that your methods, as described, would eradicate lice if they were present.
This program does not attempt to decide whether lice were actually present or not. Use the Short wool DSS for that.
Rubbing decision support system (DSS)
This program considers all the common causes of rubbing and helps you works through these, including checking for lice. It provides an estimate of the chance that rubbing is due to lice or due to any of a range of other possible causes. Note that lice may be present even if some other factor is the main cause of rubbing. The program can be used on its own or as part of the short wool or long wool programs.
Brief Instructions for Rubbing DSS
Click on each of the tabs in turn, starting with ‘Lice’ and answer the questions on that page. If you have not looked for lice, or you have actually found lice then ignore the tab ‘Lice not seen’.
At any time you can click the ‘Calculate’ button and the program will estimate the probability that rubbing is due to any of a range of possible causes. The probability that lice are the cause of rubbing is shown at the top, but other potential causes are included.
Keep in mind that rubbing may be due to more than one cause. For example, sheep may be rubbing due to grass seeds, but also have lice. This is why the probabilities may add up to more than 100% and you cannot eliminate lice just by finding some other cause.
If you want to check your answers to some questions that need clarification, click on the tabs; do not use the ‘Back’ button in your browser.