We have fly predators and BTI granules down but they don’t do anything for tabanidae species of flies. I have some beauveria bassiana spray coming from Arbico, but it’s been on backorder for over two weeks, and I’m unconvinced that will be any more effective. Is there ANY actually-effective solution for the horrid horseflies/deerflies that we’ve had this year? My thoroughbred in particular is getting chewed to bits, to the point where I’ve resorted to keeping all the horses in until the sun goes down.
If you find anything (other than the one trap that’s super expensive), please share. They can be wretched here too for horse and human.
Haven’t seen anything in my 40+ yrs of having horses that will stop deerflies and horseflies other than dark sheds, a strong smack, or an electronic bug zapper.
My TB just stays in her shed until they are gone/the sun goes down. Don’t suggest a fly sheet because they just get trapped underneath and that’s not something you ever want to see (horse trying to get away from a trapped bug that keeps biting :eek:).
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Had a smart mare that hid in the cedar trees. I spent 20 minutes one day looking for her - checking fence :lol:
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:mad: The sole of your boot!
And how disappointed was I to find out it is only the females that bite ? :disgust:
They need blood to fertilize their eggs.:ambivalence:
My TWH is the most appetizing apparently.
To the point he has tiny bare spots on both sides of his neck where he was bitten & is constantly rubbing those places on fenceposts, stall doors, etc.
In desperation, I have started sponging those spots with witch hazel. Seems to give him some relief, as hair is coming back.
I also flyspray (10% permethrin concentrate, mixed doubles strength) but the greenheads & B52s seem impervious.
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹
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well I’ll be spraying with beauveria bassiana so I suppose I’ll let everyone know if that works -____- thanks all
Our senior citizen mare (AKA “The Princess”) must be very tasty to horseflies. I have never found a product that discourages them gorging on her. We manage with very early turn out, indoors again as soon as the bugs become bothersome. Please let us know if you find a product that is even moderately helpful.
We will know in a week. At stated application rates this stuff is very spendy. Based on some lab research I am going to use a lower rate of application at night, after the sun has gone down, to hopefully achieve some control. This fungus is one of the few things in could find in research that is disease causing in tabanids.
The problem with horseflies is they are visual hunters and therefore not put off by most repellents. They also breed in wet vegetable matter rather than manure, and are resistant to most pesticides.
I have thought for a long time someone should invent a white, reflective, mesh sheet & neck cover to deter those awful creatures — I thought it was a pretty great idea – until read ryansgirl’s comment above, about how the flies get stuck under the sheets and still keep biting:(
I am thankful my horses can get in the barn and stand in front of 42" & 36" barrel fans. They spend a lot of hours munching hay or napping, in front of those fans – dash out for a few bites of grass, then literally run back to the barn when things get rough.
I think each horse’s body odor plays a big part. When I had four horses they were liver chestnut, medium bay, red chestnut, and sorrel. Pretty much all the same color. While it didn’t seem to matter who the deer flies went after, not all of them were deviled by the horse flies.
I still have the sorrel and the red chestnut. I have seen the horse flies go after both of them but they seem to like the sorrel a lot more.
I’m on my second year with the Horse Pal trap and it is collecting everything from deer flies to the giant black horseflies. And every one dead in the trap is one who is not laying more eggs. I basically live in a swamp, so it’s a losing battle, but I will be adding more of these traps in areas the horses spend time.
190610_1583 by Wendy, on Flickr
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Time. They only live 4-6 weeks. July to Mid-August.
Here’s a lighthearted article about them.
For what it’s worth, contributors on the Reddit thread all seemed to have success with Avon’s Skin So Soft.
https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/3fafh9/how_to_deal_with_greenhead_flies/
Garlic powder added once daily in the feed stops the horseflies. Seems to render the horse invisible. Weird but it works. Been using garlic for years and it proves its worth every season. Doesn’t do jack-all for any other fly, however - barn and house flies, green head and deer flies are still a bother. But horseflies? They might buzz once but then just fly away. Amazing to watch.
Edit to add: not talking about the grocery store garlic powder (that’s useless so don’t bother throwing your money away on it), but the high quality herbal product from Herbalcom.com
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ekekekekeke
Many years ago, I gulped and splurged on an Epps fly trap. I still have it. It still catches and kills the big bomber horseflies. Replacement parts are available to purchase if needed, or any reasonably handy person can fake it and fix it.
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I’ll check the ounce dosage tomorrow and let you know.
2dogsfarm - I’ll check the ounce dosage tomorrow and let you know.
Sand wasps feed on horse flies. Also known as Horse guard wasps.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_guard_wasp
They aren’t aggressive. They like the sand around my barn which is probably why I rarely see any Horse flies. We get stable flies and horn flies but not the larger horse flies.
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