Fly sprays that WORK with minimal harm to watershed?

[sami-joe]

Pyrethrins are plant-based and break down with sunlight, so that’s the worst chemical I use, if I have a choice.

I’ve gotten myself in trouble before, voicing my observations of Ecovet and its marketing. Put simply, the bar for notifying the EPA is extremely high in the US, and in this case likely has to do with the safety of its workers. You couldn’t pay me to use it.

So, in the interest of old school animal-cruelty-free purchasing power, I’ll leave this screenshot from Ecovet’s own toxicology documents.

[lorilu]

I have found that using those big “fly trap” bags you add water to, attached at intervals to the fenceline, really helps. I hang one near (not under) the run in shed and other places horses congregate. The trap draws the flies away from the horses.

And my trick for handling them is to hang them dry, then bring a gallon jug of water to fill them after they are hanging. Less mess for sure.

[lenapesadie]

I also like the big fly traps. Like you I hang them on fences and also on trees in the paddock nearest my manure pile. I think they cut down on flies. I like quick strike granules in the barn itself too

[demidq]

Thanks Simkie! New info for me- should have done my research before posting.

[emeraldcity]

I live in Maine too. My horse got a fly under his riding fly sheet ONCE and he was… very angry. That said, if I hadn’t been on his back he probably would have just rolled and squished it. It was on his butt and finally made it up high enough for me to swat it and then he was ok.

I can say confidently he’d be a lot more likely to have a pasture accident due to NOT having a fly sheet on than having one. I’m not saying that’s true of every horse, but for mine who gets really really stressed by the flies and mosquitos (really the mosquitos are the worst), he’d be far worse off without it.

[MapleFarm]

I generally like EcoVet, but a word of caution. I just pulled mine out of my tack room from last year, and, not thinking, used it as normal. My mare got massive swollen spots everywhere I sprayed (thankfully with EcoVet I only sprayed a few areas), which were painful, hot, and oozing after a couple hours when I saw it. I believe I did not shake the bottle. I am not 100% sure, but that’s all I can think since she tolerated it last year with no issues. I’ll be buying a new bottle to be sure, and testing in a small spot.
My pastures are along a large stream, so I am sensitive about the ground water as well.

[KendraLW]

At this point I’ve tried almost every fly spray out there. Every one at TSC, equiderma, zonkit, EcoVet (am I the only one that doesn’t mind the smell?) there is not a single one that has impressed me.