A flesh-eating parasite that once ravaged Texas livestock is creeping back—and the state is stepping in to stop it.

The state will be deploying traps with synthetic bait along the Mexican border, Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced Monday.

The synthetic "swormlure-5" bait mimics the scent of rotting animal flesh to attract and kill adult screwworm flies.

The state is working with COPEG, The Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm Infestation in Livestock, to drop sterile flies into hotspot areas. However, while these flies are making an impact, Miller suggests the process to eradicate them will take years.

There is currently a facility in Metepa, Mexico, that produces and drops sterile flies. Miller says the facility has been producing 100 million, but 600 million will be needed to kill off the population. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, approved an $8.5 million initiative to construct a sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, last month.

But according to Miller, that facility is years away from being fully operational, and fears that by then, the screwworm will be all over the United States.

Miller said a newer approach is needed to quickly and effectively kill the flies. 

"We cannot wait for sterile flies alone to turn the tide. That's why we're applying a little cowboy logic and bringing back Swormlure, now with an enhanced formula that's more powerful and effective than ever," Miller said in a statement.

Miller says by deploying the traps with the new bait, 90 percent of the fly population will be killed. Leaving the remaining 10 percent for the sterile flies to finish off.

The TDA is the lead department on this effort and is working alongside the United States Department of Agriculture and the Mexican government to set up the new traps in hotspots.  

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