Spring has sprung in Texas! Can we talk about flies?

[Belmont]

Flies are already out with a vengeance this year. I bought Bronco instead of the yellow can aresol, and they are totally ignoring it. BO called a professional pest control last year, and we tried poison but it didn’t work. We are very diligent about cleaning and placement of manure. The yellow can spray seems to work the best, but it still doesn’t last long. All the horses are so annoyed already!

Favorite sprays? Supplements? Home remedies?

Horse destroyed fly sheets and fly boots, so those are a no…

[MoonlightsMom]

Have you tried fly predators? My B.O. puts them out early spring. I also feed my mare garlic and apple cider vinager. It seems to help some. She still gets flies landing on her, but they dont bite her as often as they do if I dont add garlic and vinager to her feed.

[Hermein]

I use Simplifly on my whole herd. Haven’t had any health problems. Unfortunately, it doesn’t touch horseflys (or “horseflies”–don’t know which spelling is preferred, but you know what I mean). It helps, but since there are cattle in the neighborhood, it’s far from a 100% solution.

I also use flytraps around the perimeter, fly paper and fly sticks inside the barns. I used to use fly bait, but worry about the birds getting in it.

I keep flymasks on all the horses, and wipe-on insecticide for the farrier visits and riding. (I used to use fly sheets, but gave it up on the grounds that it was too much of a hassle for me, and too expensive to repair and replace considering the horses’ hobby of shredding their neighbor’s clothing.)

Predators have never worked for me–I think it’s climate based.

Oh, in fly season, I turn out only at night. This prevents rubbed tails and manes at my house.

[Jarpur]

We started feeding a feed-thru (SimpliFly) a month ago to get a head start on the flies; we normally feed it from early March until mid-October. For several years we used fly predators from various suppliers; in this area, having shipments every three weeks worked better than once per month. But, the feed-thru has proved superior to the predators in our situation. We are diligent about manure control and composting, but certainly notice the increase in flies when cattle are brought into our neighborhood. The next-door, horse-owning neighbor also uses the feed-thru, which helps, too.

We’ve been using this concentrate product for the past several years http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/permethrin-10-livestock-amp%3B-premise-spray-32-oz; it’s relatively economical and I like being able to adjust the strength. We also generally have a botanical spray on hand, a botanical cream for use on the face, and a roll-on. I don’t feel comfortable using fly baits and we have had a problem with songbirds getting caught on some of the larger sticky traps.

One thing that does work well here is old-fashioned fly tape – the little cylinders that unfurl and cost about a quarter when bought in quantity. We hang multiples from rafters between stalls, plus use one of those stinky fly traps, festooned with a fly tape, hung from a tree branch hanging over the manure cart, away from the barn, which catches lots of flies.

We also have individual, battery operated fly spray dispensers in our stalls, mounted high and away from feed and water. Previously, we had the Country Vet brand, but this year replaced them with air freshener ones that fit the Country Vet cans; the stronger strength seems to be worth the extra cost in our well-ventilated shed row barn: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/country-vetreg%3B-mosquito-amp%3B-fly-spray-maximum-strength-formula-69-oz

We are fortunate to not have a problem with horse flies, normally, but one year a few moved in, so we put up an Epps fly trap (our neighbor went in on this and we placed it near the fence line between our places) which quickly collapsed the population: http://www.horselineproducts.com/eppsbitingflytra.html
However, some of the parts are not very durable and have needed repeated replacement.

At one time, I consulted with an entomologist, who recommended spraying the walls of our barn, inside and outside, as flies like to rest on the walls. This is the product she recommended, although we haven’t used it in years: http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e079d0-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&sfb=1&itemguid=3269e3e1-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&utm_content=21985&ccd=IBSM0001&utm_source=BingAds&utm_medium=shopping&mr:referralID=9a377077-db3d-11e4-82f7-001b2166c2c0

I tried feeding apple cider vinegar, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. We rarely have to use a fly spray on our horses, but sometimes have to change the fly tape frequently. Visitors have commented on how relatively few flies we have, so I guess our program works as well as can be expected. Good luck - I hope you find something to give the horses some relief.

[Larry_Garner]

Are they biting or just bugging your horses?

Different kind of flies breed in different places and are controlled with different methods.

There is not a one Magic solution to good fly control.

Good Manure management is job 1
To attack flies on the front end use feed thru larvacides and Fly Predators.
To attack flies after they arrive try traps, baits, tapes and lastly sprays.
Good Luck.

[Belmont]

There are some biting but mostly swarming around his legs. He has a full face mask right now, because they were biting his ears and creating sores. Since getting the full mask, the sores have healed. He is having less ear irritation!

We don’t have a horse fly problem. Just normal flies and a few stable flies. Livestock down the road a few miles, but we are the only horses within the immediate area. I’m going to get some of the tapes to hang around the barn and where we kee the manure cart.

Is it too late for feed through? It’s already April…
Best sprays out there?

[Belmont]

[QUOTE=Jarpur;8089615]
We started feeding a feed-thru (SimpliFly) a month ago to get a head start on the flies; we normally feed it from early March until mid-October. For several years we used fly predators from various suppliers; in this area, having shipments every three weeks worked better than oncme per month. But, the feed-thru has proved superior to the predators in our situation. We are diligent about manure control and composting, but certainly notice the increase in flies when cattle are brought into our neighborhood. The next-door, horse-owning neighbor also uses the feed-thru, which helps, too.

We’ve been using this concentrate product for the past several years http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/permethrin-10-livestock-amp%3B-premise-spray-32-oz; it’s relatively economical and I like being able to adjust the strength. We also generally have a botanical spray on hand, a botanical cream for use on the face, and a roll-on. I don’t feel comfortable using fly baits and we have had a problem with songbirds getting caught on some of the larger sticky traps.

One thing that does work well here is old-fashioned fly tape – the little cylinders that unfurl and cost about a quarter when bought in quantity. We hang multiples from rafters between stalls, plus use one of those stinky fly traps, festooned with a fly tape, hung from a tree branch hanging over the manure cart, away from the barn, which catches lots of flies.

We also have individual, battery operated fly spray dispensers in our stalls, mounted high and away from feed and water. Previously, we had the Country Vet brand, but this year replaced them with air freshener ones that fit the Country Vet cans; the stronger strength seems to be worth the extra cost in our well-ventilated shed row barn: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/country-vetreg%3B-mosquito-amp%3B-fly-spray-maximum-strength-formula-69-oz

We are fortunate to not have a problem with horse flies, normally, but one year a few moved in, so we put up an Epps fly trap (our neighbor went in on this and we placed it near the fence line between our places) which quickly collapsed the population: http://www.horselineproducts.com/eppsbitingflytra.html
However, some of the parts are not very durable and have needed repeated replacement.

At one time, I consulted with an entomologist, who recommended spraying the walls of our barn, inside and outside, as flies like to rest on the walls. This is the product she recommended, although we haven’t used it in years: http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e079d0-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&sfb=1&itemguid=3269e3e1-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&utm_content=21985&ccd=IBSM0001&utm_source=BingAds&utm_medium=shopping&mr:referralID=9a377077-db3d-11e4-82f7-001b2166c2c0

I tried feeding apple cider vinegar, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. We rarely have to use a fly spray on our horses, but sometimes have to change the fly tape frequently. Visitors have commented on how relatively few flies we have, so I guess our program works as well as can be expected. Good luck - I hope you find something to give the horses some relief.[/QUOTE]

This is so helpful! Thank you.

[Larry_Garner]

The flies biting your horses down low are biting stable flies. These flies breed in rotting organic material not manure. They are the first flies to appear in the spring and may have actually reached your property from a strong wind.
This fly is a blood feeder that requires blood to reproduce. Odor traps or fly bait do not attract them and fly spray is only marginally effective.
The only thing to get these flies are Bite Free Stable Fly Traps. Place them in the sunlight about three feet off the ground, outside the horse enclosure. The sunlight causes a shimmer effect that tricks the fly to go bite it and they get stuck.
Fly Predators love these flies but feed thru is mostly a manue effective tool and this fly breeds mostly in rotting organic matter.
If you feed hay on the ground you should burn or disk the residue left.