Allicin as a potential insecticide for filth-feeding disease vectoring flies of intensive livestock

Filth feeding flies are major pests of intensive livestock facilities globally and significant losses occur as a result of reduced productivity caused by the nuisance and irritation they cause animals ("fly worry"). Furthermore, flies act as mechanical vectors of a large number of pathogenic organisms of both animals and humans. When fly populations are large, insects may migrate to nearby premises, causing nuisance and creating potential health risks to residents. There are very few insecticides available to control the fly species associated with livestock rearing facilities, a fact that creates the constant risk of resistance development in those products currently in use. The proposed project aims to develop a new insecticidal product based on allicin, a garlic-derived compound, which can be safely used against the major fly pests of livestock, both in the UK and globally. The project will examine the efficacy of the product, the economic case, market size and potential for the new product to be used in the range of other situations where flies are major pests.