Ministry of Agriculture
Control of Insect and Related Pests of Livestock and Poultry in British Columbia
Sheep Ked
Host: Sheep
Description of Injurious Stages and Damage
Commonly known as "sheep-tick." Adults are wingless flies, grey to brown in colour, about 6 millimetres long when fully grown. Sheep keds suck blood from their host, causing irritation and loss of or damage to wool due to rubbing. The bites also cause a skin blemish called "cockle" which reduces the value of tanned hides. Lambs may be stunted by the presence of many sheep keds.Summary of Life History
Adult females retain the larvae in their bodies until they are almost fully grown. When the young emerge from the adult they are attached to the wool, and soon pupate as a brown capsule, emerging as adults in about 3 weeks. Reproduction is continuous with populations peaking in the winter and decreasing in summer. Keds transfer from sheep to sheep through contact.Control Recommendations
Shearing will remove many keds and pupae. Treatments include malathion (0.5% spray), methoxychlor (0.5-1% spray) or rotenone (0.05% spray or 1% dust). Apply treatments after shearing for best results. Once keds have been eradicated from a flock, prevent reinfestation by introducing only clean sheep into the flock.
Black Flies |
Bot Flies |
Cattle Grubs |
Face Fly |
Hog Mange Mite |
Horn Fly
Horse & Deer Flies |
House Fly |
Lice |
Mosquitoes |
Poultry Lice
Chicken Mite & Northern Fowl Mite |
Sheep Bot Fly |
Sheep Ked |
Stable Fly |
Ticks
