(CNN) — A cow’s days of fly-shooing and hoof-stomping might soon be over. Cows painted with zebra-like striping can avoid biting fly attack. Cows Painted To Look Like Zebras Attract Fewer Biting Flies, Study Finds.

JAPAN -- A cow's days of fly-shooing and hoof-stomping might soon be over. Japanese researchers painted zebra-style stripes on one group of cows, black stripes (on black bodies) on another, and left other cows un-painted as control moos. To put that theory to the test, Japanese researchers painted cows … The first group was painted with non-toxic white substance in the same wide stripe pattern as zebras. PLOS ONE ... Zebras appear to be less able than humans to resolve stripes although they are better than their chief predators. To test the theory, cows were painted to look like zebras and then Japanese researchers counted the bites. All it takes to repel pests is a new paint job, researchers say.

I think they're a shoo-in for a 2020 Ig Nobel Prize. Cows are being painted with zebra stripes to test odd theory - and it works Biting flies cause huge problems for cows, but scientists may have found a very strange way to combat the problem Share By Andrea Powell. But scientists seem to have found a way to reduce the irritation flies cause to cows - by painting them to look like zebra. Zebras have mesmerized researchers for decades with their stripes.

Black cows painted to look like zebras are significantly less likely to endure pesky horse fly bites — nearly 50% less, according to a new study published in PLOS One. Apparently, the nuisance bugs are confused by the stripes and cannot land. Slashdot reader ClickOnThis writes: An article on CNN reports results from a team of Japanese researchers who discovered that painting cows to look like zebras makes them less attractive to biting flies. A study published in the journal PLoS One found that painting zebra-like stripes on cows significantly reduced attacks by biting flies, providing a means of defending livestock against flies without pesticides.

They found that black cows painted with white stripes experienced 50 … We also found that the reduced landings of biting flies coincide with a reduction in defensive behaviors in cows.
Their unique black and white stripes provide camouflage from predators and deter biting flies. Some scientists think zebras' stripes significantly reduce the amount of insect bites they receive. This work provides an alternative to the use of conventional pesticides for mitigating biting fly attacks on livestock that improves animal welfare and human health, in addition to … In the study, one cow was painted like a zebra with white spray paint, one was given black stripes, and the third was left as it is to confirm which received more bug bites.

We found that painting zebra-like stripes on cows can decrease the incidence of biting flies landing on individuals by 50%. Recently, researchers in Japan painted black cows with zebra-like white stripes and discovered that flies stay away from them.