Best fly control for Sweet Itch aka Biting Midges/Gnats

[tikkamasala]

Hi all,
Since it is sort of warming up I am trying to preemptively address fly season. My horse gets Sweet itch pretty badly in the warmer months (diagnosed by vet). It’s bad enough that she rubs out her tail and some of her mane. So this year I bought the Bugbeeta fine mesh fly sheet with neck, and now am looking into brands of fly spray. Do you prefer Farnam, UltraShield, etc? Bonus points if it is available on SStack.com

She is on pasture with one other horse and stall board is not an option.

All other tips, ideas, and opinions welcome.

Thanks!

[Murphy_s_Mom]

Flax helped my mare. It’s been many years since she passed but I think I was feeding around a cup 2x a day.

[tikkamasala]

Flax seed for fly control?

[SuzieQNutter]

I use Permoxin. It takes away the itch which stops the scratch which stops the itch.

If down to blood start by spraying 3 times a day. Allow to dry before putting their rug on. Work down to twice a day. Down to once a day. Down to every 2nd day. Down to every 3rd day.

If you are lucky you can just spray the mane and tail once a week.

If not lucky. Use a brush and brush it all over the horse once a day and allow to dry before putting on their rug.

I use a rug neck rug combo and insect boots.

10 mls is mixed with 400 mls of water which makes it quite cheap.

It is not added to oil which attracts dirt and fries horses in the sun in Australia.

It can be used on horses for itch and dogs for flea allergies. It also kills ticks.

It is an insecticide not a repellent. I add a few drops of lavender oil as a repellent or you can use eucalyptus oil.

It cannot be used on cats.

[Marla_100]

I think Murphy’s Mom was suggesting flax seed to build up and improve the skin’s reaction to the insects. I also believe there is a nutritional component to healthy skin.

Here in buggy, gnatty Fl. the ONLY fly spray that lasts all day is Endure.
But still best if you spray daily. Also hand wipe it on the face, ears and around the eyes. Everything else is gone in a couple hours or burns the skin.

[NoSuchPerson]

[long mostly irrelevant background story deleted], so my vet suggested that I give Ecovet fly repellant a try.

http://eco-vet.com/

She said several of her clients have tried it and raved about it. I bought a bottle, but it was right at the end of gnat season so I can’t really give much of a review. However, it definitely does last a long time on the horse. I know this because the smell, to me, is kind of awful and I can still smell it on the horse in the evening when I apply it in the morning.

I also second the recommendation of Endure. I used to use it and liked it, but one of mine developed a sensitivity to it, so I stopped using it.

[mountainhorse]

Garlic Granules fed daily started in early spring before flies, through summer, to late fall.

[csaper58]

Only Deet works here.

[Murphy_s_Mom]

[QUOTE=tikkamasala;8530640]
Flax seed for fly control?[/QUOTE]

@Marla 100;8530960

I think Murphy’s Mom was suggesting flax seed to build up and improve the skin’s reaction to the insects. I also believe there is a nutritional component to healthy skin.

Yes, the flax helps lesson the “itchies”. It really helped my mare with her sweet itch.

[CFFarm]

The thing that helped my horse most was when I took him off grain and put him on a ration balancer. It wasn’t a food allergy (it’s seasonal) but something about the grain somehow attracted the midges more or set off the reaction. He still gets a bit of sweet itch but not nearly as bad. Of course I still use fly sheets, masks and spray. I also use topicals occasionally on a particularly itchy spot. I vary the brands of fly spray I use (I prefer an oil base) so he don’t build up an immunity.

[tikkamasala]

Hmm, I think I have found a solution based on what all I have heard. I talked to a vet, who related all this back to hindgut health, plus I keep hearing about flax seed, my omega-6 levels, and probiotics. So it seems like Nu-Image may be the best bet. Plus it has decent Copper levels which will help with sunbleaching. I don’t know if I will be adding garlic quite yet simply because I don’t want a giant concoction of random stuff that I am dumping into Horse.

Product analysis:
Dark Horse Nu Image: http://selectthebest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Dark-Horse-Nu-Image-10-lb-back-7-14.pdf

Ultra-Finisher Nu Image:
http://selectthebest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Ultra-Finish-Nu-Image-10-lb-back-8-14.pdf

Forgot to add that my horse is black and sunbleaches something awful in the summers

[Gamma]

Sweet itch here a combination of gnats and everything else (ticks and other kinds of biting flies).

I use EquiSpot applied pretty aggressively (every 2 weeks during the season, applied with a small hoof brush that I keep just for this, and I really get his legs and tail dock more than the spine). I thought it did nothing and we were just having a lull in gnats until I tried to stop doing it…

Even with that we still get the occasional crusty spot around the fetlocks, although less frequently, when one starts I coat it with AluShield and keep it coated until it heals up (have to reapply every 3-4 days). Keeps the spot from enlarging or itching so much.

Not only is this expensive but my pony really hates both of these products and will head for the hills when he sees them coming (literally, hears the AluShield bottle or smells EquiSpot), but I can’t get out to the barn every day and this is really effective and low maintenance.

[BigBlackDog]

I used Omega Horse Shine on my horse who would be bald and scabby from fly bites on the underside of his tummy, from wither to mid neck would be bare of mane and the dock of his tail had scrapes and scratches from all the rubbing. Added the Horse Shine and his condition improved dramatically! It’s about $50 for a 20b bag and he got a cup a day for week as a loading dose and a 1/2 cup a day since. then He gets turned out with 20 other horses with trees in the pasture and a fly sheet wouldn’t last a day. I used diluted tea tree oil on his tummy (soothed and softened the skin and was an additional barrier) and GoldBond anti itch lotion on his tail. I can’t keep the flies from biting, but the combination of these made him so much more comfortable.

[cschattner]

My horse is also a sweet-ith sufferer. I use a sheet made by turtle which worked great and I also use dex every day. It’s an aggressive treatment but it has worked.
I tried, home remidies, flax, garlic etc and got nothing out of it.

[invinoveritas]

I use TriTec Fly spray by the gallon. And stall horses during the peak season for biting gnats. I tried those products that spray automatically and they were effective in small paddocks.

I don’t use dex but others who have horses with allergies have used it.

[Lord_Helpus]

[QUOTE=SuzieQNutter;8530776]
I use Permoxin. It takes away the itch which stops the scratch which stops the itch.

If down to blood start by spraying 3 times a day. Allow to dry before putting their rug on. Work down to twice a day. Down to once a day. Down to every 2nd day. Down to every 3rd day.

If you are lucky you can just spray the mane and tail once a week.

If not lucky. Use a brush and brush it all over the horse once a day and allow to dry before putting on their rug.

I use a rug neck rug combo and insect boots.

10 mls is mixed with 400 mls of water which makes it quite cheap.

It is not added to oil which attracts dirt and fries horses in the sun in Australia.

It can be used on horses for itch and dogs for flea allergies. It also kills ticks.

It is an insecticide not a repellent. I add a few drops of lavender oil as a repellent or you can use eucalyptus oil.

It cannot be used on cats.[/QUOTE]

[replying so this information will show up on a search of my posts ]

I have a lot of Skin So Soft – is that as good as lavendar or eucalyptus oil?

Also, I have a 8 pound Yorkie with a horrible flea allergy. Would this be safe to use on her?

Also, what is “mls” in american measure?

[NoSuchPerson]

[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8565287]
[replying so this information will show up on a search of my posts ]

I have a lot of Skin So Soft – is that as good as lavendar or eucalyptus oil?

Also, I have a 8 pound Yorkie with a horrible flea allergy. Would this be safe to use on her?

Also, what is “mls” in american measure? :)[/QUOTE]

5 milliliters (mls) is roughly equal to 1 teaspoon (tsp).

Also, there was some study done years ago comparing a variety of essential oils for their insect repellent properties and “lemon eucalyptus” was the one that came out on top. A horse-owning environmental chemist told me that and gave me his “perfect recipe” for homemade fly repellent, which I seem to have lost the last time I moved. But I know it called for lemon eucalyptus oil.

[Lord_Helpus]

Which (if any) of the midge/fly insecticides can be used in an automatic fly spray system? I have been using Pyrhana (sp) for general flies, but I bought a horse, who gets sweet itch, last fall. So now I would like to use my auto system to help kill the midges.

It appears that Permethrin and Cypermethrin are the best insecticides. What fly system insecticides use either of them?

ALSO: a very good Horse and Hound article says that horses should be inside from 4pm – 8 am. I know that sunrise and sunset are 2 bad times of day, but can’t the horse be out from 9pm – 6am? I like keeping all horses in during the heat of the day, so I need a time when he can go out.

[Manni01]

[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8565421]
Which (if any) of the midge/fly insecticides can be used in an automatic fly spray system? I have been using Pyrhana (sp) for general flies, but I bought a horse, who gets sweet itch, last fall. So now I would like to use my auto system to help kill the midges.

It appears that Permethrin and Cypermethrin are the best insecticides. What fly system insecticides use either of them?

ALSO: a very good Horse and Hound article says that horses should be inside from 4pm – 8 am. I know that sunrise and sunset are 2 bad times of day, but can’t the horse be out from 9pm – 6am? I like keeping all horses in during the heat of the day, so I need a time when he can go out.[/QUOTE]

I think a have the same type of horse. Right now we do really well with a flysheet 24 hours a day. But my vet told me last year as well that sunrise and sunset are bad and she improved tremendously after I switched her from night turnout to day turnout. If she can be only turned out from 9 am to 4 pm, I will have to live with it.

[Lord_Helpus]

Just curious — the only other horse I knew of who had sweet itch was a seal brown, and my horse is black. Does anyone have a chestnut or gray that gets sweet itch?