Does it even make any sense to use Simplifly in this situation? Was just about to buy more.

[Color_of_Light]

Every spring thru fall we feed feed thru fly control, Simplifly. We still have flies and it just occurred to me that maybe it doesn’t make any difference if we use it or not. There are two main barns and each has a manure pile, so there is always fresh and composting manure. There are pastures that don’t get picked due to size and to the terrain. Stalls, attached paddocks and dry lots are cleaned. Neighbors have cows, horses, donkeys, sheep and goats, either on near the property line or within 2-3000 ft. How far do flies fly?

Maybe it would be better to put every horse on a feed thru insect deterrent, instead of just the couple of insect sensitive horses?

[kiwichick]

I dunno about any of that, but I do know you can be out in the ocean fishing, miles from shore, and flies will turn up out there too. So I think they can fly super far.

[Simkie]

Those feed through fly preventives only work if the WHOLE barn is on them…and if there are no nearby sources of flies/untreated manure. I’d say you’re wasting your $$ just feeding it to a few.

[Color_of_Light]

@Simkie

Those feed through fly preventives only work if the WHOLE barn is on them…and if there are no nearby sources of flies/untreated manure. I’d say you’re wasting your $$ just feeding it to a few.

Thanks. Everyone gets Simplifly. Only a couple are on feed thru insect deterrent.

I wonder how many flies an environment can support? There is always manure that’s accumulated over the winter that is untreated and there is always decaying organic matter in the spring time, too. We’ve never had a huge amount of flies, but then again we’ve always fed Simplifly or something similar. I’ve always assumed that using Simplifly would cut back on the population, but you’re right, there will always be untreated manure and stuff where they breed. Maybe it doesn’t matter. I guess if we decide not to feed Simplifly and suddenly have a large increase in flies over the norm, then maybe that is due to no Simplifly.

[Simkie]

@Color of Light

Everyone gets Simplifly. Only a couple are on feed thru insect deterrent.

Ah. Which insect deterrent?

In that case, the Simplify is probably addressing your potential flies and the flies you see are from the neighbors. You’d probably see a whole lot more if you stopped using it. Maybe the neighbors could be talked into fly predators?

[Color_of_Light]

@kiwichick

I dunno about any of that, but I do know you can be out in the ocean fishing, miles from shore, and flies will turn up out there too. So I think they can fly super far.

So true! Fly super far, have nothing to land on to rest out there. Do they fly out there and fly back, or just fly and die? Not that they probably care. Why fly out over the ocean if there’s no place to land to breed or lay eggs? I don’t know how someone could do a study on a fly’s flight paths without putting a tracking device on one, but I’d love to know what they really do and how far a typical fly flies.

[Color_of_Light]

@Simkie

Ah. Which insect deterrent?

In that case, the Simplify is probably addressing your potential flies and the flies you see are from the neighbors. You’d probably see a whole lot more if you stopped using it. Maybe the neighbors could be talked into fly predators?

Thanks! I’m glad that I asked. Definitely don’t want more flies.

I used MVP Flies-a-way last year. I made a post recently hoping to generate discussion about the efficacy of various fly deterrents but no response. I compared the ingredients in several products. The common ingredients were garlic, diatomateous earth and I think it was thiamine? (will have to go check that post).

Ha! Yeah, it would be nice if everyone could use Fly Preditors. Most of these are hobby farms with livestock in pastures, so I don’t think they care. Most of the horse farms have some sort of fly control system.

[Simkie]

@Color of Light

So true! Fly super far, have nothing to land on to rest out there. Do they fly out there and fly back, or just fly and die? Not that they probably care. Why fly out over the ocean if there’s no place to land to breed or lay eggs? I don’t know how someone could do a study on a fly’s flight paths without putting a tracking device on one, but I’d love to know what they really do and how far a typical fly flies.

“Stable flies have great capacity for flight and can fly at speeds of 5 mph without wind. Studies have demonstrated their ability to disperse locally, particularly on farms or between farms, from their breeding sites to feeding sites and vice versa. A study of flies collected on equine facilities in Florida found that only 24.3% of the flies captured on horse farms had fed on horses; 64.6% had fed on cattle, 9.5% had fed on humans and 1.6% had fed on dogs. The flies that had fed on cattle had travelled between 0.8 and 1.5 km after feeding on cattle to the equine facility. In Florida, stable flies have been recorded moving up to 225 km away from their farm sites to coastal sites.”

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/URBAN/MEDICAL/Stomoxys_calcitrans.htm

[Color_of_Light]

@Simkie

“Stable flies have great capacity for flight and can fly at speeds of 5 mph without wind. Studies have demonstrated their ability to disperse locally, particularly on farms or between farms, from their breeding sites to feeding sites and vice versa. A study of flies collected on equine facilities in Florida found that only 24.3% of the flies captured on horse farms had fed on horses; 64.6% had fed on cattle, 9.5% had fed on humans and 1.6% had fed on dogs. The flies that had fed on cattle had travelled between 0.8 and 1.5 km after feeding on cattle to the equine facility. In Florida, stable flies have been recorded moving up to 225 km away from their farm sites to coastal sites.”

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/URBAN/MEDICAL/Stomoxys_calcitrans.htm

Thank you! So they can fly approximately 140 miles? Sheesh. Bionic flies!

[Alibhai_s_Alibar]

@Simkie

“Stable flies have great capacity for flight and can fly at speeds of 5 mph without wind. Studies have demonstrated their ability to disperse locally, particularly on farms or between farms, from their breeding sites to feeding sites and vice versa. A study of flies collected on equine facilities in Florida found that only 24.3% of the flies captured on horse farms had fed on horses; 64.6% had fed on cattle, 9.5% had fed on humans and 1.6% had fed on dogs. The flies that had fed on cattle had travelled between 0.8 and 1.5 km after feeding on cattle to the equine facility. In Florida, stable flies have been recorded moving up to 225 km away from their farm sites to coastal sites.”

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/URBAN/MEDICAL/Stomoxys_calcitrans.htm

Wow!

[kiwichick]

@Color of Light

So true! Fly super far, have nothing to land on to rest out there. Do they fly out there and fly back, or just fly and die? Not that they probably care. Why fly out over the ocean if there’s no place to land to breed or lay eggs? I don’t know how someone could do a study on a fly’s flight paths without putting a tracking device on one, but I’d love to know what they really do and how far a typical fly flies.

haha I have no idea but they die if they are anywhere near me!
I mean whats even the point of a fly, or a mosquito for that matter?