USDA Tackles Screwworms With A New Facility In Texas

A sterile fly factory will be built in Texas to stop New World screwworms from devastating the livestock industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the screwworm was detected about 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border in July.

The agency has been keeping an eye on the parasite for a while. It was back in 2023 that the screwworm was discovered in areas north of the Panama Canal. In 2024, the worm was seen in Mexico which led to the USDA suspending imports of livestock from Mexico.

The parasitic flies lay eggs in the open wounds of warm-blooded animals which can be fatal in severe cases. This isn’t Texas’ first rodeo with the worm. The Lonestar state experienced a screwworm infestation in the 1960s.

How Will the Factory Stop the Screwworm Problem in Texas

The $750 million facility in Edinburg, Texas will produce about 300 million sterile screwworm flies per week. The process works like this. Males that mate with sterile female flies will produce non-viable eggs causing the population to die out.

This approach eradicated NWS from the United States in 1966. Production facilities currently exist in Panama and Mexico, with the Texas facility being the first constructed in the United States.

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Other Methods Being Used By the USDA

Construction on the facility will take about a year, so in the meantime, traps will be used. Inspections of all animals entering the U.S. will aid in identifying any worms entering the country.

The Timing of the Screwworm Outbreak in Texas

The screwworm’s movement towards the U.S. couldn’t be more ill-timed. After several years of drought, the cattle population in Texas is slowly increasing.

According to the USDA, Texas’ beef cattle herd grew by 60,000 head to 4.02 million over last year making Texas the largest beef-producing state in the U.S., at 15% of the country's total. Even though the Texas beef cattle herd grew slightly since January of last year, the overall U.S. herd remains near its lowest numbers since 1961.