Hey guys, So now that its warmer I have been noticing a lot of ticks all over the fencing, buckets etc. After a trail ride today I had to pull about 30 or so ticks off my mares legs (must have walked through a nest) I sprayed her with bug spray before hand and again afterwards to try and get any remaining ticks off. Any products that are recommended or tricks? I want to start letting her out in our grass pasture soon.
Thanks
There are some great ideas mentioned in this thread.
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I keep my guys sprayed down with a mix of RepelX and the permethrin concentrate mixed a little strong and it works great for me…
I’ve also heard others have really good results with Frontline Spray.
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Chickens – and Equispot for the horse.
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guinea hens which are the most annoying bird ever. i can’t do it but have a friend who has. they aren’t clever but they eat ticks.
I bought some Equispot to try and a better quality fly mask. I also bought garlic powder to add to their feed, has anyone tried that? I was told it works on goats and some people use it for their horses.
I find garlic to be super useful for reducing tick bites. Don’t think it does anything for flies or gnats.
Do note that it has risk of causing Heinz body anemia. Keeping the dose low reduces the risk, and air-dried garlic is supposed to be less risky as well. I buy (air dried) from Springtime.
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I bought AniMed brand garlic. Im sure regular store bought stuff could have worked the same but I didnt want to skip anything in solving this.
I saw a lot of black flies in her ears so I got a fly mask that included ears and have been extra sure to bug spray her ears.
Ok, I can look for aired dried garlic for next time and will keep an eye on her
Ticks I’m not good at (as when I previously had horses here in the '70s-'80s-early '90s they hadn’t reached us yet), but black flies are something I know way too much about. We have black flies all summer (lucky us). They generally get less bad for people after the first few weeks, but the horses can be surrounded by a cloud of them well into September.
I love roll-on repellent for applying inside the ears to protect against them. But since fly masks (with ears, of course) have been a thing, I haven’t needed any repellent there.
Besides inside the ears, our black flies love the back of the pastern. I found that Shoofly Leggins, which sit in that area, mean no more bitten-raw skin there.
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So I applied the Equispot and she hated it but it is on. How do you get them to eat the garlic, she just wont touch it
Mine don’t complain about garlic. You may have to work up to the full dose over time.
I just sprinkled it a little on her grain and she wanted nothing to do with it. Shes always been a picky eater, Im leaving it in with her for the night so maybe she will warm up to it over night
would the garlic be just as useful if i added it to her water instead? The water seems to mask some of the scent
Probably not–the bulk of it will settle at the bottom of the bucket and not be consumed.
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You could mix the garlic with water and give it to her in a syringe. She’ll probably hate that but it will get it down. That’s how I have to give powdered meds to my picky mare.
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I have been very happy with Pro Force 50 from Chewy. I was pulling 3 or more ticks off each horse a night. I still find one here and there, but it has also helped flies!
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I tried Frontline spray thanks to this thread and others, and I think it is actually working. I’ve been spraying their forelocks/manes, tail tip, tailbone, and all four pasterns every 7-10 days and have been finding way fewer ticks/bites than before. For a few weeks it was awful–new tick bites in the mane and on the tailbone every day, pulling multiple ticks off daily, etc. There may also be a seasonal/weather factor to the decrease I guess (?), and the pasture grass is shorter now than when it was growing like crazy in April/May, but I rarely think insect sprays work and this one actually does seem to. I tested it in a small area on each horse first but neither of them have reacted, whereas when I tried Equispot in the past the horses seemed to hate it.
I also ordered Vectra 3D for dogs, but it was backordered and took a while to arrive so I haven’t tried it yet. I might alternate it with the Frontline? Not sure.
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No longer convinced the Frontline works. After the last application, within 24 hours I found an attached tick right where I had sprayed it on (poll) and another one just a couple inches above another area I had sprayed (lower leg). If it doesn’t even deter them right where I sprayed the day before, I am skeptical that it’s doing anything at all…sigh.
