Anybody have thoughts on arbico organics vs Spalding labs for predators?
I’ve used both. I do like the fly spray Spalding sells.
I have one of the horse pal biting fly traps and it’s worked amazingly well. Had to shift it around to find the sweet spot, but it’s several years old and I need to order a replacement on the fabric part. This thread reminded me to send that email.
I’ve been curious to try this!
Another “alternate” fly spray that I like is the stuff Santa Cruz sells:
I usually mix it 50/50 with my regular spray. It’s so inexpensive and help the $$$ stuff last longer.
You folks might want to do a online search for Mosquito Torpedo, as an additive to your wet places. They last 90 days, will dry out if the wet place dries up. Then Torpedo reactivates when wet again. I think they are a better product for the money than the mosquito dunks, by lasting longer, while doing the same job. I buy the multiple packs, cheaper in quantity.
No one locally seems to sell them anymore.
Another vote for the black ball trap. It is expensive but it will last for several years and makes a HUGE difference by significantly reducing the fly population over the course of a few years.
Could you set up solar fans in your barn? I have fans on timers to run at dusk when the mosquitoes come out. The horses flock to the barn during that time and hide out until about 10PM, when the mosquitoes seem to dissipate.
I used fly predators for one year and did not notice a difference. The next year I fed Simplifly instead of using predators and I found it made a significant difference.
So for me, the black ball trap, fans and feedthru have virtually eliminated the need for fly spray. I do spray the horses for ticks every few days and that repellent seems to help with other flies. I use Absorbine Ultrashield mixed with Tick-off.
We used fly predators for a few years, then one year thought they were not helping that much and didn’t start with them, the flies told us different, they again were bad, we ordered again and have since.
For us, while more or less effective over the years, not using them is definitely worse.
The local cattle feedlots use fly predators a carton in every aisle and around the buildings fly bait and their control is sure adequate to very good, given the open air circumstances.
Before fly predators they had to fumigate all every week, spraying insecticide over everything.
We went from many flies around the house entrance, on the door frame to using fly predators and practically no flies there and from horses stomping around during the day to quiet horses now.
They may not work every place, but worth giving them a good try, they may work for you too.
We have been in the 70’s for weeks and don’t think that is a good thing - all you people up north in snow. The biting flies are already bad. I hate to start running the fly system in March. I was making the horses live outside 24x7 since the weather was nice and I needed a break from stall cleaning. The flies are making that not so fun for the horses. Wet humid weather is a fly incubator around here and the fly predators have never worked very well around here. I gave up on them and bought a fly system but that doesn’t help much when the horses are outside.
We have a lot of things working against us here, too. Humid, wet climate. Swampy lowlands. Big agricultural area: lots of horses, chickens, cattle, pigs, etc. all within the immediate area. A landfill a few miles away.
Now I’m dealing with the aftermath of an exceptionally wet winter and early spring on top of all that.
Some things that help, though: a near constant breeze/wind. Lots of birds and bats and wasps.
When I win the lottery and build my dream barn, I want lean to’s on three sides and either ceiling fans or big outdoor fans to make a fly free zone both inside and outside the barn.
our city hands these out for free in an attempt to reduce West Nile, I just need to go to city works office an ask for them
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