Brand: BAYTICOL ®  10 mg/ml Pour-on

Company: ELANCO (BAYER)


FORMULATION: «pour-on» for topical administration.

ACTIVE INGREDIENT(S): Flumethrin: 1% = 10 mg/mL

CHEMICAL CLASS of the active ingredient(s): Synthetic pyrethroid


INDICATIONS: CATTLE


PARASITES CONTROLLED* (spectrum of activity)

  • For the control of ticks (Ixodes ricinus), biting lice (Damalinia bovis) and sucking lice (Linognathus vituli, Haemotopinus
    eurysternus) and psoroptic mange mites in cattle.

* Country-specific differences may apply: read the product label.


RECOMMENDED DOSE & USE INSTRUCTIONS*

  • Control of ticks and biting lice: 1 mg/kg b.w. of the active ingredient equivalent to 1 ml of the solution for every 10 kg bodyweight. Treat at 14 day intervals according to tick pressure.
  • Control of Sucking lice and mange: 2 mg/kg b.w. of the active ingredient equivalent to 2ml of the solution for every 10 kg bodyweight. In cases of clinically severe mange a repeat treatment is necessary after 14 days.
  • Bayticol may be used in beef and dairy cattle including pregnant animals.
  • All animals in the herd should be treated. Bought-in-animals should also be treated and yarded for some hours before joining the herd.

Read the product label for further details on dosing.

* Country-specific differences may apply: read the product label.


SAFETY

  • LD50 (acute oral) in rats: >2000 mg/kg for the a.i.
    LD50 (acute dermal) in rats: >2000 mg/kg for the a.i.
  • Estimated hazard class according to the WHO: U, unlikely to present acute hazard

Suspected poisoning? Read the article on flumethrin safety in this site.

Withholding periods (=withdrawal times) in days for meat & milk (country-specific differences may apply: read the product label)

  • Meat: Ireland 5 days
  • Milk for human consumption: Ireland: Milk for human consumption may be taken only after 10 days following the last treatment.

WARNING !!!: Never use on humans or cats. Synthetic pyrethroids are toxic to cats!

Flumethrin and all synthetic pyrethroids (e.g. cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, etc.) are extremely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Do not contaminate dams, streams or waterways with product or used containers. Store original container, tightly closed in a safe place under lock and key.

You may be interested in the following articles in this site dealing with the general safety of veterinary products:


RESISTANCE PREVENTION

Risk of resistance?

  • In Europe: NO
  • In tropical and subtropical regions: YES, resistance of cattle ticks (Rhipicephalus = Boophilus microplus) to all synthetic pyrethroids (incl. flumethrin) is widespread in AUS, Latin America and elsewhere and can be very high. This means for these regions that if this product does not achieve the expected efficacy against the mentioned parasites, it may be due to resistance and not to incorrect use, although this is usually the most frequent cause of product failure.

Alternative chemical classes/active ingredients to prevent resistance of external parasites in tropical and subtropical regions through product rotation:

These alternative products may not be available in all countries, or may not be available as pour-ons, or may not be effective against all the concerned parasites.

Learn more about resistance and how it develops.


MARKETING

Are the active ingredients of this product ORIGINAL* or GENERICS**?

  • GENERICS

*Meaning that they are still patent protected and generics are not yet available
**Meaning that they have lost patent protection and may be acquired from manufacturers of generic active ingredients other than the holder of the original patent.

COUNTRIES where this brand/product is marketed: Ireland and other EU countries, New Zealand
GENERIC BRANDS available? NO, in most countries. BAYTICOL is a brand from BAYER (now ELANCO) with original flumethrin.

Click here to learn more about GENERIC vs. ORIGINAL drugs.

For an overview on the most used antiparasitic pour-on brands click here.


COMMENTS

Flumethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid introduced by BAYER in the 1970s. It is probably the best synthetic pyrethroid against ticks, but less effective against biting flies than other synthetic pyrethroids (e.g. cypermethrin, deltamethrin, etc.). BAYTICOL Pour-on is still available in many countries (e.g. in Latin America), but the pour-on formulation was withdrawn from the Australian market in the early 2002's because of potential issues with flumethrin residues in beef for export to the USA.

Until cattle ticks (Boophilus microplus) resistance to flumethrin became widespread, BAYTICOL was probably the world leading tickicide for cattle. Nowadays it remains a very appreciated product where resistance of cattle tick is not an issue. It is used mainly in cattle and also in dogs.

All synthetic pyrethroids are veteran pesticides developed in the 1970s-1980s and are basically contact insecticides. This means that when the parasite comes in contact with it (e.g. during the blood meal, after landing on a treated host, etc), the active ingredient that impregnates the host's hair coat penetrates through the cuticle (i.e. the "skin" of insects and other arthropods) into its organism and disturbs essential biological processes in the parasite's body, in this case its nervous system.

After administration to livestock or other animals, synthetic pyrethroids do not have a systemic mode of action, i.e. they are not transmitted to the parasite through the blood or the host. Topically administered synthetic pyrethroids are very poorly absorbed through the skin of the hosts, and what is absorbed is quickly broken down and/or excreted. Consequently the concentration reached in the blood is too low to kill blood-sucking parasites. But this is why they are considered rather safe for mammals, both humans and livestock (cats are an exception: pyrethroids are toxic to them!) and why they leave rather low residues in meat and milk.

All pour-ons containing contact insecticides such as synthetic pyrethroids have the same weakness: they are applied on the back of the animal and spread more or less quickly along the hair coat to other parts of the body, but coverage is usually not homogeneous and some parts of the body are not or only poorly reached. How fast and complete the spreading is depends on a lot of factors (e.g. distance to the delivery point, rain, animal behavior such as grooming, licking, rubbing, etc.) but also on the inert ingredients in the formulation, which may or may not favor spreading. In any case, compared with the backline the concentration of the active ingredient will be significantly lower in body parts that are difficult to reach (e.g. udders, perineum, below the tail, inside the ears, etc), where some parasites may survive because the concentration is not high enough to kill them.

It is useful to know that the active ingredients of many synthetic pyrethroids consist in a mixture of various optical isomers, typically those called "cis", and those called "trans". Flumethrin also consists of a mixture of various optic isomers, but all commercial products contain the same mixture, i.e. this makes no difference in the product quality or efficacy. 


DISCLAIMER

This article IS NOT A PRODUCT LABEL. It offers complementary information that may be useful to veterinary professionals and users that are not familiar with veterinary antiparasitics. 

Information offered in this article has been extracted from publications issued by manufacturers, government agencies (e.g. EMEA, FDA, USDA, etc.) or in the scientific literature. No guarantee is given on its accuracy, integrity, sufficiency, actuality and opportunity, and any liability is denied. Read the site's DISCLAIMER.

In case of doubt contact the manufacturer or a veterinary professional.