stinking biting tiny little things you can’t even barely see?
What the HELL works on them?
HELP!
Read elsewhere too!
There are like 100 threads devoted to this subject usually starting off with tail or mane rubbing. Do a search and you’ll see the myriad of things people have tried. It’s under both Off Course and Horse Health.
I’m in my 7th year of the battle here. This year I’m trying a Weatherbetta mesh combo fly sheet AND ground flax seed. So far the best results but her mane is 1/3 gone still. The groin area is better as the flax is helping with the inflammation & skin quality/response. I did some research on the culocoides gnats and they breed in damp areas and are repelled by flysprays. This year I’m trying Bug Block…dunno if it’s better…Mine are out 24/7 so limiting turnout at the peak times is not possible.
Have had limited success with Anahist antihistamine since the reactions to the midges is a generalized allergic reaction and my vet has suggested Atarax (hydroxyzine) too. In the end I may have to try allergy shots which apparently work with this severe allergy. The symptoms are mane/tail/belly rubbing. This is not necessarily where they are actually being bit BTW. It’s just where they itch.
Oh, sorry, should have specified–for the RIDER…
Yes, I know they are awful for the horse, but <knocking wood madly> my concoctions for them seem to do the trick ok. It’s ME they are eating, terribly, for the first time ever.
To the point I’m not sleeping at night after working the horses, because I am so covered in welts from the little black dots. :mad:
born in sand gnat country
well I was born in sand gnat country, raised on the Vernon River between warsaw and ossabaw islands, spent all my allowance on fly spray, had one out of 6 horses in my life allergic to gnats, so…
all fly sprays help on horses.
skin so soft, mixed with white vinegar, and water (you don’t have to use citronella or eucalyptus oils) will repel. I think the skinsosoft stinks so much it makes the gnats sick.
and rhino, which comes in a tiny little aerosol at convenience stores, is used by shrimpers, and costs too much to use on anything but heads of my 2 horses.
my friend Lucy found the formula for skinsosoft/white vinegar/water at something like, comanchemoon.homestead.com or at homestead.com, whatever, but after following the directions, I found I could mix less skinsosoft with more of the vinegar and water and get the same results.
and you can buy skinsosoft on ebay cheaper, when they change the bottles, they sell off to people who resell, so you don’t have to pay the retail.
and you can buy by the case.
at a show when I was 18 here in savannah, some guy asked me “what are these invisible things that bite in the dark?” sand gnats are the bane of coastal georgia. and SC.
spray fly spray every day. and watch out if you have an allergic horse, as steroids can cause laminitis.
Skin so Soft or nearly any of the cutter people sprays.
I also use a product called Bug 'n Sun… it’s a sunblock AND insect repellant.
If you don’t want to use a Deet product then get a lemon eucalyptus oil spray. I’ve bought this spray at a couple different sporting goods/outdoors stores. Lemon Eucalyptus oil is very repellent, more so than citronella oil and it’s pretty safe to use directly on the skin. Just don’t inhale the mist while spraying!
I hate getting bitten by gnats. I have extreme reactions myself.
Bonnie
I’m just full of good ideas!
OK then!!! I have to wear a bandana on my head during feeding time in the evenings to keep them from biting around my hairline. OR make yourself a “bug hat”!! Find an old floppy brimmed straw hat and spray the heck outa it with a strong DEET bug spray. That’ll work. Floppy brim cotton beach type hat too. You can find them at the dollar store or Walmart. I find DEET productsz work but you’re not supposed to use on face so I just spray hand and “dot” my face= nose and 2 cheeks repels off face. Or look in the outdoor wear catalogs where they sell those head nets. Again Walmart sells them. The gnats are attracted to your CO2 so the heavier you breathe; the more you’ll attract…so…just stop breathing!!! 
;)
Another bug hat design = straw hat with shortish brim. Hang 4-5 inch long pieces of cotton string every inch or so around the brim. So it’s like a long fringe…soak strings in bug spray and wear. Of course, you’ll need a good sense of humor and absolutely no ego!!! You can make a similar contraption for your riding helmet for trailriding too. I should patent this invention…:yes::lol:
Here’s an easier design for you to patent… take a stretchy headband (they are all the rage, so easily found in most discount and dollar stores) and attach strings to the head band. It can then be worn under a helmet or hat. : )
In fact, there are some that adjust like a bra strap… these could even be soaked in deet and put on the outside of a hat or helmet.
Dorky!
Yea but THAT would look absolutely dorky!!! :lol: Hats aren’t dorky! Hats are fashionable! Funny hats scare horses and THAT’s worth the effort!!
I’m gonna make millions on this…!!! :yes:
How about this one, dryer sheets! Yeah, weird huh? For some reason the Fribric softener sheets repel knats. Tear them into strips an hang from bridle for the horse. Maybe you could fold them into paper roses and decorate your hat brim with them! Or cut into a fringe and staple them around the brim of a cloth hat. Tuck one under the back to shade your neck! Ear Flaps! sort of a Foreign Legioneer look?
Of course you could just use the lemon Eucalyptus oil which can be put on your skin but I’d rather envision all of you with these wild hats.
Bonnie
but will it scare the horses?!!
OMG! The foreign legion look!!! :eek: :yes: That’s it!! :lol: I’m so there!!! woooo hoooo!! But…will it scare the horses?!! Do I care!!! :D:winkgrin:
Now…about that lemon eucalyptus oil??? where do you get that?! Does it work to repel them? I’ve been spraying my Redskins baseball hat with DEET bug spray and it works…I can hear them buzzing around my ears BUT THEY DON’T LAND!!! So I could add some fabric softener sheets under my baseball hat…hmmmm…sounds good…gotta try it!
Any particular BRAND of sheets btw?!! 
I found a commercial spray at two different stores, REI and Dicks sporting goods i think. It’s the Lemon Eucalyptus spray. That, cold pressed soy bean oil, geranium oil and catnip oil all are excellent mosquito and knat repellents. Oh, neem oil too.
Equilite, Sore No More mfgr, makes Ricochet fly Spray. the ingredients are: Water, Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Sunflower Seed Oil, Citronella Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Neem Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Rosemary Oil, Tea Tree Oil. It’s quite nice and safe to use on yourself. it would work well on knats. Smells good too, aromatherapy stuff.
Bonnie
boy, I don’t check this thread in a little while… and the things y’all are coming up with… lol!!!
I might try the Ricochet… been using the Sportsman’s DEET stuff, but I hate using it when I can’t shower afterwards for awhile…
Alas, since I posted, we’ve gone from black fly season into deer fly season. Sometimes I prefer the black flies. :sigh:
The biggest issue with the midges now is that they come through the screen into the house at night to devour you when you try to sleep. :no: Gotta love summer. NOT.
bump
going to be miserable here too. what about for horses turned out all day? is SSS the best option?
Hay
FOr horses…now we’re in NY and I just don’t think we have them as bad as you all.
I use Swat inside their ear flaps and along their midlines of their bellies and an extra dab on the belly button. I also include the area between their front legs even though it’s hairy. And, truly the best fly spray is Tri Tec in a gray bottle. It’s expensive but shoot that stuff works.
When I trail ride on the horses, I use one of those ear nets that the jumpers use and then spray with Tri Tec.
My one horse seems to have a slight head shaker syndrome to anything touching/flying against his muzzle so if I keep the whiskery hairs short on his muzzle, that seems to eliminate that problem.
for barns and patios i use fans. big box fans blowing hard keeps the little suckers from the area. even the horses will stand blissfully next to the fans when the bugs are bad. works for mosquitos too.
