They are parasites. They lay their eggs in fly larva, and the eggs hatch and eat their way out. I’m not even sure if the adults eat at all…?
Tons of info online if you’re curious :encouragement:
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Thank you
To further clarify trub’s question - The BTI survives the digestion tract of the horses and persists in the manure? I’ll admit I haven’t read all of the articles, so maybe it’s in one?
I have noticed a marked improvement in the fly population after dropping a dunk into my stock tank (it’s the only standing water source) and sprinkling BTI granules in the ever-moist spot near my spigot. What a win for barn owners!
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There is no research in horses.
There is research in chickens, which is linked earlier in this thread :encouragement:
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Similar to other posters, I have noticed a significant decrease in adult fly presence one day after spraying water steeped in mosquito dunk around the manure pile, trailer, and horse sheds. And the barn swallows seem to be working farther away in the field now. Very interesting. I also put a mosquito dunk in the stock tank.
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The flies seem to have hatched at my farm in the last week or so. After reading this thread I put a dunk in my water tanks in the turn-out fields, and I’m going to give the sprayer a shot, too. I’ll report back. This is fascinating and cheap if it works!
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Natural Selection, did you spray your field? Asking because this is the one area I have flies this year. Nothing near the barn/manure pile so far. This spring I had my manure pile removed, and horses have been on Simplifly since current pile has been building. I also use fly predators, and even though I do sprinkle about half in my field, this seems to be my problem area this year.
Isn’t that just awesome! I am so excited that it’s working for you!
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Is there any danger to any of the pollinators using this method?
I’m definitely interested in trying it as the flies are beginning to “pop” here in MA, even with fly predators.
Thanks…
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Apparently, not much.
https://www.beeculture.com/the-pollinator-stewardship-council-mosquito-abatement-programs/
Nope. Check out the EPA link in a previous post.
seabreeze and Simkie… Thanks!
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Actually @Loves to ride …I’ll walk that back. If you mean pollinators = bees, then yeah, this doesn’t hit them. But bees aren’t our only pollinators.
A quick google shows that there ARE dipteran pollinators:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2014.2934
(Apparently even house flies and mosquitoes and biting gnats pollinate, who knew?)
If bti winds up where those guys breed, then yes, this will affect those pollinators. But some of those things also chew on our horses.
If you are concerned about pollinators in the order dipera, then you’d need to identify what you have, and where/how they breed, and keep bti away from the breeding areas.
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I did not spray the field (25 ac of hay/pasture). Just sprayed around the manure pile, horse trailer, and the drylot run in sheds. We are pretty good about about keeping the drylot picked clean and we’re using Solitude, fly predators, and fly traps. The dunks still made a difference.
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Interesting! Thanks for the update Simkie! I’ll have to be mindful of where I spray. There’s definitely a balance.
I sprayed this morning: manure dumpster, stalls and a couple of flower pots right near the barn doors. I didn’t hit the gardens.
I’m interested to see if it works!
The flies are really starting to pop here in MA, even with fly predators and picking pastures daily. Any improvement (reduction in the flies/mosquitos/gnats) will be a plus!
Just to be sure - It safe to spray where wild turkeys and babies forage? Wild turkeys often share grain ( steamed) with my older horse. Much grain ends up on ground. The turkeys also forage in the weeds where the flies must breed as there are a ton of flies.
So, it is OK to spray on ground or in shelter on the dropped grain and in the weeds?!
Yes. Read the info from the EPA. It’s linked earlier in the thread.
But this needs to go where flies are breeding. Flies are not likely BREEDING where your horse is dropping grain. They’re breeding in manure or other organic rotting material.
I’ve never heard of these before this thread but definitely want to try using them! Other than the trough, would you also put one in each horse’s bucket? How did you use it in your chicken run? Do you put one in their water too or is it better to dissolve it in water and spray their coop/run? Is spraying it as effective against mosquitos as putting it in water? I’m surrounded by woods, so lots of mosquitos AND flies. Would love to make a dent in both populations!
I put it in all water sources, so yes, in the horses buckets and the chicken waterers.
No, spraying it isn’t going to do much for mosquitos. You need to put it in the water sources where mosquitos are breeding.
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I LOVE this BB ðŸ˜
I’ve used the dunks before, dropped into water sources, when mosquitos were bad.
But this year mosquitos seem to be nearly nonexistent {knock wood} in spite of some wet & humid weather.
So…
I have been aggravated by the clouds of teeny tiny gnats that seem to appear instantly on fresh manure & hover around my stall doorways & in the stalls.
Horses don’t seem bothered, but they make me 😡
I tried @Simkie 's Dunk Tea recipe & today - Day 2 of spraying - noticeably fewer gnats visible.
Yesterday I also sprayed windows in my barn that seem to breed flies - housefly, greenheads & the B52s.
🤞They die off as well.
I used 1 dunk in a quart sprayer.
Worked great until this morning when the spray mechanism quit.
Of course, this is the bottle I spent $4 on because it was at the hardware store I found the dunks 🙄
I fiddled with it & clogging doesn’t seem to be the problem.
I may have to get a Dollar store replacement.
Or get another heavy duty sprayer like the one I use for flyspray - now going on 5yo.
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