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Tea tree oil controls flies in Australian sheep and bacteria in airconditioning units



Tea tree oil has shown to be effective in controlling all stages of sheep flies, such as maggots, eggs, pupae and adults.

The Australian Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), a government department, funded research to find a pain-free way of controlling flies and lice in sheep. Flystrike from blowflies (large flies) can infect sheep, causing disease and death, and thus impacting the sheep meat and wool industries.

However, research conducted by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation in Queensland has led to the discovery of a natural product that controls flies in sheep. Researchers tested the tea tree oil for its insecticide effect and its impact in repelling sheep blowflies and lice.

The tea tree is a tree native to Australia along the north coast and streams of New South Wales and Queensland. The scientific name is Melaleuca alternifolia and is commonly called narrow-leaved paperbark, narrow-leaved tea tree, or snow-in-summer (due to its white flowers). The oil from the tea tree is known to be an anti-bacterial and ant-fungal medicine for humans and is used in antiseptics, deodorants, shampoos, soaps, and lotions. However, humans cannot swallow the oil because it is poisonous in large quantities.

Researchers used a 1% solution of tea tree oil in sheep dip for louse infected sheep two weeks after shearing them. This killed the lice for up to 20 weeks (5 months) after treatment. In addition, jetting sheep with six-month-wool with a tea tree solution reduced the number of lice by up to 94% compared with control treatments. Researchers also said that tea tree oil could also be used to repel flies (like a fly spray) and also to treat wounds and sores in sheep (such as scrapes and scratches).

The organic tea tree oil is safe, environmentally friendly and a low residue pest control. Therefore the oil (often called ti-tree oil or melaleuca oil) can be used not only for humans, but also for sheep, representing a significant potential new market for Australian tea tree oil.

An Australian company has also used tea tree to manufacture a water-based gel designed to remove mould and bacteria growing in air conditioning systems in offices. The gel blocks are placed inside air conditioning units. In hot and humid, or cold and damp environments, bacteria can grow in ventilation units which can lead to allergy-causing spores and gases. The company, Gelair, now sells the gel blocks all over the world.

(https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/items/10-190 for the publication “Controlling Fly Strike and Louse Infections in Sheep with Tee Tree Oil” and https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/items/07-143 for the publication “The Effectiveness and Safety of Australian Tea Tree Oil”) – Rural Diversity (Issue No 7, Summer 2011).


MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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