Flies Flies everywhere!!! What to do? Desperate for help!

[cswoodlandfairy]

Hi all!

So we recently moved into our new farm! Horses arrived in February. I started the fly predators but unfortunately later in the season (only one month in with next shipment in the next few days) but the flies are AWFUL! They are everywhere! I clean stalls daily and deposit the manure in a pile on the opposite end of the property. All feed is covered and there are no unopened trash cans.

Yesterday I cleaned the feed tubs and the walls from my messy eaters. I installed one of those auto fly spray things yesterday (only one in stock, but plan to get more) but when I got on the ladder to hand the spray there were SO MANY flies all over the trusses and near the loft.

What can I do to get rid of them, well at least lower the population? I have some other fly traps arriving tomorrow (green net type ones) and I have a liquid trap that has hundreds already dead in there. I just don’t know what else to do that is equine and dog friendly!

Help!!!

[lilak357]

I would stick with the net traps and the fly predators, you just need to give the predators time to work. They don’t kill adult flies, just the larva, so that’s why you aren’t seeing an immediate improvement. You can always call and get more sent over- when I place my orders I always increase headcount by 3-4 horses just to be safe. But the nets will trap the current adults, and the predators should take care of future generations. If in a month you still have those high levels, I’d be very surprised!!

[dungrulla]

Try bacillus israelensis cultures. We sprinkle some on stalls, in the manure pile, and any standing water about twice a week, or whenever stalls get stripped. My trainer’s barn is beginning to have a significant number of flies. So far I haven’t seen any. This is the brand I use:

https://www.amazon.com/Summit-Responsible-Solutions-Mosquito-Bits/dp/B0001AUF8G

You will take a few weeks to see results, it kills the flies in their larval stage. It is labeled for mosquitoes but works on almost all dipterans without much off-target effect.

[trubandloki]

Your spray insecticide will also be killing your fly predators so do not be surprised if they do not work as well as they should since you are killing them.

[Bluey]

Do not use fly spray on premises with fly predators, it kills them too.
Ok to use fly spray on horses, sparingly so it doesn’t get all over other around where you spray.

Fly predators work over time, won’t help that much when you first use them.

Over years, you will have few flies with them, but if you skip a year, flies will again get bad, as we found out.
So did others around here, that were starting to think they really didn’t have a problem any more, so why keep buying those.

Don’t despair, you will get things under control yet, keep trying until you find what works for you.

[cswoodlandfairy]

For the fly predator, where do you put them in the barn? Can you put them in the stalls? I basically have a 36x48 barn with 4 stalls on one side, tack/wash/open storage on another. I have a tow along cart for the manure that is outside the barn and emptied every other day.

First application I did outside the four stalls, corner of all stalls and near the poop cart space. Should I put some at my manure pile that’s across the property?

[babecakes]

Fly predators did not work for me. I tried exclusively for 2 yrs and big $.

Fly bags - you can see the results. and it traps a fly that can no longer multiply! It does make this place look like a Mexican cantina tho :winkgrin:

[trubandloki]

@cswoodlandfairy

For the fly predator, where do you put them in the barn? Can you put them in the stalls? I basically have a 36x48 barn with 4 stalls on one side, tack/wash/open storage on another. I have a tow along cart for the manure that is outside the barn and emptied every other day.

First application I did outside the four stalls, corner of all stalls and near the poop cart space. Should I put some at my manure pile that’s across the property?

What does “across the property” mean in your case? If it is 100 acres and the barn is actually on one corner and the manure pile on another then probably not causing you much issue not having them on the manure pile.

I think their website and the instructions that come with the predators give you a good explanation of where is best to put them. I personally put them at the manure pile and at two different spots where things stay messy/wet (picked up 2x per day but the common manuring spots). I do not see any reason why you can’t put them in the stalls, except that you are spraying the stalls with something that will kill them.

I have found the people at Spalding are very responsive and want the predators to work. If you have questions specific to your place send them a note and I am betting they will respond.

[imaginique]

@babecakes

Fly predators did not work for me. I tried exclusively for 2 yrs and big $.

Fly bags - you can see the results. and it traps a fly that can no longer multiply! It does make this place look like a Mexican cantina tho :winkgrin:

Same here. Fly predators were a waste of money. I buy the stinky container traps at Tractor Supply. They kill HUGE amounts of flies. Some flies live to breed in the trap, but those larvae will never grow to be flies that bother my horses! The traps are the best thing I’ve found for eliminating flies, and less expensive than predators.

[trubandloki]

At this point I would think the OP would do well putting out some of those traps too, since they are dealing with an existing fly problem and the predators take a bit to make a difference.

[suzyq]

I use feed thru, but sometimes I get flies anyway and I like the quickstrike fly strips. I put them on a board in a couple stalls and it kills a bazillion flies very quickly. You could also hang them where you are seeing the flies.

[cswoodlandfairy]

@imaginique

Same here. Fly predators were a waste of money. I buy the stinky container traps at Tractor Supply. They kill HUGE amounts of flies. Some flies live to breed in the trap, but those larvae will never grow to be flies that bother my horses! The traps are the best thing I’ve found for eliminating flies, and less expensive than predators.

I have one of these and its actually worked great! I swirl it around everyday since it settles on the bottom, but its so black with how much has flown in there. But its out of control now. I do have a cattle farm across the way, but they moved the cows to their summer pasture months ago (front pasture along my property is used for hay in the summer/fall)

[cswoodlandfairy]

@babecakes

Fly predators did not work for me. I tried exclusively for 2 yrs and big $.

Fly bags - you can see the results. and it traps a fly that can no longer multiply! It does make this place look like a Mexican cantina tho :winkgrin:

I have some arriving tomorrow. They are the green mesh looking things you put bait in the bottle and they fly up into the net. So hopefully those will be a big help… now to think where to put them!

[dungrulla]

@babecakes

Fly predators did not work for me. I tried exclusively for 2 yrs and big $.

@imaginique

Same here. Fly predators were a waste of money.

Not all fly predators kill all species of flies. Spaulding’s mix is pretty good for most areas, but they don’t work at all in others. Some species are hard to target–horseflies are for the most part not affected by fly predators, for example.

For people having this problem, contact your agricultural extension. They should be able to tell you what species of flies are common in your area. You can then research which species of fly predators are effective, and purchase accordingly.

This is why I also use the BT toxin on top of the fly predators: BT toxin kills all dipterans, meaning double-wing insects with a larval stage. Anything the predators miss it will kill, though it has to be used religiously before flies emerge to have the greatest effect.

Wasps and bees are not dipterans so if you purchase the right cultures they will not be affected.

There are also various strains of beneficial nematodes that target dipterans as well as other pest insects, but they tend to be more expensive and less selective. I keep tarantulas and some species of nematodes can infect them, so we don’t use this method at my house out of an abundance of caution. The science of which nematodes affect which spiders isn’t settled, so it’s better to go without.

[Simkie]

By chance, are you using fly spray on your horses in their stalls?

If you are, you’re getting pyrethrin in your bedding, and that’s killing your fly predators.

I never thought predators did much of anything until I stopped spraying the horses in the stalls. Now that I’ve stopped, they are AWESOME.

[happilyretired]

I built a new 16 stall barn in Central Florida, and we opened in January 2018. We did not install a fly spray system in the barn when we built it. Last year we had a TERRIBLE fly problem – tried many different solutions … most of which have been mentioned here, including fly predators. But nothing seemed to make a real dent in the flies. So this year I had a barn wide automatic fly misting system installed … in every stall as well as over grooming stalls. And voila … very few flies. Horses and humans much happier. I put in a Shoo-fly system – system was $1,500 and labor to install was $650.

[lorilu]

A few ideas:
Every time I clean a stall (and other times as well) I spray Pyranah on the bedding.
The Glade timed spray units WILL fit the CountryTime (?) fly spray cans for their $50 meter units… and the Glade one only costs $5… Put one on a ledge in every stall. Find it at WalMart. Buy the cans in quantity from Jeffers or another on line dealer.
Be sure you clean out feed tubs regularly.
Put up a variety of those fly-bag traps, not only near gates but also under any run-in sheds, water troughs, and, if you can stand the smell, outside the windows of the barn. Different brands use different attractants so I think using a variety of them makes sense.
I find the only feed thru that really works is Solitude. It’s more expensive but… it works, takes about 2 months to see an effect.

[mmeqcenter]

The RESCUE smelly container fly traps are excellent

[Texarkana]

Fans!

[4horses]

What feed are you using? Do your horses spill feed?

Sweet feed draws lots of flies. I feed my horses away from the barn and i use recycled wheelbarrows so they eat out of a big tub. This prevents feed from ending up in the sand. My manure is spread out on the sunny pasture and run over with the lawnmower once a week. This was more effective than composting because compost needs to reach a certain temperature to be effective. I use fans in my stalls.

Haven’t had any major issues with flies but we do get horn flies from the neighbors cows.

I have used fly traps in the past. Identify what type of flies are a problem so you can buy the best trap.

Deer flies and horse flies like standing water for breeding. Eliminating standing water will help immensely. Stable flies like moist manure- how is your manure management?