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A delay in treating lice can cost you money at the wool table.

If you’ve spotted lice in your flock and your next shearing is still months away, the temptation is to wait it out and treat off-shears, shear early or try and suppress lice with a traditional long-wool treatment. It’s what we’ve always done. But those decisions to wait could be stripping dollars from the fleeces on your property – and with Flexolt, there’s no longer any reason to let lice keep eating into your returns.

The Real Cost of Waiting

Sheep lice are estimated to cost the Australian wool industry $107.6 million each year³. Research shows that lice infestations can significantly reduce fleece value depending on infestation level and wool micron. Impacts of lice on wool include:

• Cut clean fleece weight by 0.3–0.9 kg per head¹.
• Drop yield by 2.6% to 6%¹.

For example, an 18-micron fleece can lose $4.98 to $22.45 per head¹^˒² in value from lice. Multiply that across a mob of 1,000 sheep and you’re looking at potential losses of between $4,980 and $22,450 – and that’s before accounting for yield downgrades.

Once fleece derangement from lice is visible it is important to control the lice burden. Left unchecked or simply suppressed while you wait for shearing, fleece derangement worsens, cotting increases, and the damage compounds³^˒6.

Why Flexolt Changes the Equation

Flexolt is the first and only oral lice treatment effective in any length of wool – from off-shears right through to full fleece⁴^˒⁶. That means the moment you detect lice, you can act. No shearing required. No waiting months for the next opportunity⁵.

Key benefits of treating with Flexolt before shearing:

• Treating early stops damage accumulating. Every day lice remain on your sheep, they’re degrading wool quality and reducing your clip value³.
• Works systemically via the bloodstream, so it’s unaffected by wool length, rain, or external conditions⁴^˒⁶.
• Zero wool harvesting interval – treat today, shear whenever it suits you⁴.
• Lice control equivalent to off-shears treatments achieved in long wool, unlike traditional long wool suppressants.³^˒⁶.
• Simple oral application – just a backpack and applicator. No dipping, no jetting, no cold-weather exposure risks⁴.
• Safe for breeding rams, pregnant ewes, and lambs from 6 kg⁴^˒⁶.

When You See Them

The old model of tying lice control to shearing made sense when long wool treatments were just suppressants⁶.  With Flexolt that’s no longer the case. Waiting three, four, or six months for shearing while lice multiply means accepting preventable fleece damage¹^˒³.

With Flexolt, you can control lice outbreaks immediately⁵, protect your wool quality in the lead-up to shearing, and arrive at the shed with cleaner, heavier, higher-value fleeces.

Don’t let lice dictate your schedule. Treat now. Shear later.

For more information, visit flexolt.com.au or contact MSD Animal Health on 1800 226 511.

References

1. Why Control Sheep Lice? Economic Effects of Lice on Production – LiceBoss.pdf – Production loss data and fleece value impact.
2. May 18 2026 Clean per kg Melbourne. Market Report Week 46 May 2026 | Australian Wool Innovation. <link Market Report Week 46 May 2026 | Australian Wool Innovation>
3. AU55-P00001807_Coopers Lice Protection Plus Range Brochure 2024_A4_FA_Print_Bleed-4dvwx0v8.pdf – Industry cost figures, lice management decision tree, and Flexolt product information.
4. MSD0099_Flexolt_GatefoldDetailerBrochure_A4_DrenchUpdate_FA-my2tx4qv.pdf – Flexolt flexibility, timing options, and product claims.
5. AU55-P00003250_Flexolt DM #1_2026_A5_V5 (1)-5003853q.pdf – Pre-shearing treatment messaging.
6. FLEXOLT FARM Audience Presentation – Final5.pptx – Field trial data and key benefits.