My bot fly knife just isn’t cutting it.
Any tips or tricks? Anything that works well? They are terrible this year. I’ve been out everyday spraying horses down with fly spray, attempting to get the eggs off etc.
Bot flies don’t land on the horse to lay the eggs, so fly spray is better spent on other areas of the horse:)
The later in the season it gets, the better the “glue” works the bot flies use to stick their eggs to the horse - no kidding.
Don’t throw your bot knife out. Take a container of WARM water to the barn. Soak the bot egg area you are working on with warm water and immediately start scraping them off. The trick is the warm water as it makes the eggs think the horse is licking them and they release from the sticky stuff the bot flies use to stick them to the hair
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I tried warm water without luck. My horses look a bit funny. I just took clippers and clipped them off. It’s almost time to clip the beasts anyways. They might look funny now, but soon enough they will be clipped and no one will know.
Head and shoulders shampoo! I’ve always used warm water and a bot knife and sat their forever trying to get them all off but then someone told me about head and shoulders and it actually worked!
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I was thinking about taking clippers to their legs. Unfortunately they all live outside so I no longer clip. I ended up pulling on of my horses mane super short yesterday. Soo not impressed with my bot knife.
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I started using an eyebrow razor and once you get the angle right it works really well!
Lovely sharp bot knife works for me --but keep a good edge on it --go slow and methodical. A daily few minutes keeps them off my 4 horses. Never had any luck with warm water, but may try the Head and Shoulders . . .wonder if lice shampoo would work . . .
Years ago I remember using a bot stone which was basically a pumice stone. There seems to be a much more hand friendly version. Not going to try a link and be unapproved but Big D has a Bot and Groom Stone for $3.95 that might be worth a try. Or you might be able to get a pumice stone locally in the health and beauty section.
I like the Slick-n-Easy shedding stone-type square best. I have used clippers before, too.
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Clean the edge of your bot knife every other pass. Especially while they are shedding, knives clog up really quickly.
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It’s been a looooooong time since I had to get bot eggs off a leg, but when I did, I used a razor blade. The old double-edged ones. Maybe a little tape on the side I wasn’t using, but it was thin enough to bend a little while I scraped the eggs off. I just ‘appropriated’ one from my dad. I could have used a single-edge razor blade, but we didn’t have any at home when I was a kid.
Now, I’d probably start with one of the ‘slick n easy’ blocks. If that didn’t work, I’d go back to a razor blade.
I’m thinking I need to sharpen my bot knife. Worked well last year! Thanks all!
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I use the little plastic horse shavers meant for. Quick whisker touch up.
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