A drench for sheep that has little or no issues with resistant gutworms is available again in NI.

Startect Dual Active is the only wormer that is classified as a group five (purple) product.

It was originally launched in 2012 but the product has not been available in NI for several years.

It is classified as a group five wormer as it contains the active ingredient Derquantel. This novel compound has a different mode of action from other sheep wormers on the market.

Startect also contains Abamectin, which is a group three (clear) active ingredient.

The wormer is known as “dual active” as it contains two compounds that target the same parasites, namely gutworms and lungworms.

This differs from other combination products that contain two active ingredients which target different parasites, such as fluke and gutworms.

Similar to the group four (orange) wormer Zolvix, Startect can have an important role in helping avoid the build-up of parasites that are resistant to other wormers.

This can include using it as a quarantine treatment for bought in stock, or as a late season treatment to address resistant worms that have built up throughout the year.

Startect is available in two sizes. The five-litre bottle typically costs around £550 plus VAT, with the one-litre bottle costing around £140 plus VAT.

However, the product has a low dose rate of 1ml per 5kg liveweight. At the outlined prices, it costs £0.77 to dose a 35kg lamb from the five-litre pack, and £0.98 from the one-litre bottle.