Skip to main content

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).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more