A Looming Threat: Big Country ranchers prepare for possible screwworm invasion

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – With swarms of screwworms slowly making their way towards the U.S. southern border, many ranchers across Texas are educating themselves on the insect and preparing for their potential arrival.

It’s a problem that could cost the state of Texas billions. With the latest reports now seeing screwworms at roughly 500 miles away from the Texas and Mexico border, many ranchers here in Texas are preparing for the potential of having to deal with this menace to livestock.

One spot where Big Country ranchers got the opportunity to learn about this threat was at this year’s Big Country Beef Conference. Dozens of individuals within the agriculture business were present and discussing information about the screwworm.

Dr. Sonja Swinger is an Extension Livestock Entomologist who spoke at this year’s beef conference regarding screwworms, and she said that, unlike regular flies, this species’ eating habits are the main factor in what makes these insects so devastating to wildlife and livestock alike.

“They will get pigs, they will get cats, they will get dogs, they’ll get birds, they’ll get humans. But wildlife and livestock are the easiest targets. This one will find fresh wounds, and even sometimes, there may not be a wound. They could even lay the eggs around their eyes and their noses, in their nasal cavities, and the larvae will actually eat that live flesh, and it will kill animals within a week or two if they’re not tended to.”

However, Swinger wasn’t the only expert at the conference. 14-year-old and aspiring cattle tycoon, Gage Burton, participated in a commercial steer project for 4-H, where he had to give a presentation in San Antonio about screwworms. With livestock of his own, Gage spoke to the measures he would have to take if the screwworm were to come to Texas.

“You’d have to watch your castrating, your de-horning, and even just little nicks and cuts that the screwworms can lay the larva, put the larva in, and they’ll start feeding and make that wound bigger. It just keeps getting worse.”

Prevention measures are already being put in place to combat this spread. A facility in Panama that kept the screwworms at bay by producing infertile males produced around 20 million flies a week. Since the growth of the swarm, the production number has soared to around 100 million infertile flies being produced a week.

As it stands, the swarms have been halted at around 500 miles away from American soil, but a recent case had placed the screwworm’s location at around 250 miles away from the United States. That case has since been resolved with that swarm being eradicated. With livestock being a major industry for Texas, Swinger says if screwworms were to reach the state, the economic loss would be astronomical.

“Cattle is king, right? It’s Texas. They’re a huge industry. We would lose billions of dollars with this fly here yearly. That’s not just once, that’s every single year.”