Fighting Flies
June 8, 2009
Don’t let pesky flies spoil warm days with your horse.
Information from AQHA Corporate Partner Tractor Supply Co.
Flies can carry diseases, so the best strategy for controlling them is by eliminating them at all stages of their life cycle by using a variety of products on your horse, in your barn and in other outdoor areas.
In the Barn
Proper fly control in the barn eliminates immature and adult flies. Because flies breed in manure and other moist, decaying organic matter, keep your barn as clean as possible. Fly control products you can use in the barn include feed-through fly control supplements, premise sprays and sticky traps. Follow these tips from Farnam to reduce your barn’s fly population.
- Feed-through fly-control products eliminate flies in manure by keeping fly eggs from hatching with an insect growth regulator. While the regulator is bad for flies, it won’t harm your horse.
- For the most effective results, all horses in the barn should be on the feed-through fly-control program as part of an effective strategy.
- Use odor-free sticky traps to catch flies in your barn. Avoid using attractant traps inside because they draw more flies to the area.
- At night, flies congregate away from wind and draft, so be sure to treat areas like rafters and ceilings.
- When temperatures exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit, flies feed on the floor. Put traps on the ground and treat floors with insecticides in warm weather.
- Clean and disinfect stall walls. Wash all stall-cleaning equipment (muck tubs, wheelbarrows, shovels). Scrub water buckets and feed tubs; clean sweaty tack; wash horse boots and blankets regularly; and clean up hoof trimmings after shoeing.
It is important to keep your barn and equipment clean all year, not just when flies are a concern. Proper horse and barn management allows you to enjoy horse ownership more. If you’re thinking about buying a horse and need tips, download AQHA’s FREE Guide to Buying a Horse.
- Keep feed covered. Don’t let spilled feed accumulate on the floor.
Outdoor Areas
Eliminate fly breeding in outdoor areas by keeping areas clean and free of manure and other trash. Products for outdoor fly control include scatter baits and insecticide-free bag and jug traps.
- Use attractant traps on the perimeter of your property to draw flies away from the barn, patio, kennel or house.
- Sprinkle fly bait in areas of heavy fly populations, away from children, livestock and pets.
- Dispose of all fly breeding material including manure, used bedding, waste feed and other organic matter.If waste disposal isn’t possible, treat manure and other waste with an effective larvicide to break the fly life cycle.
- Keep paddocks and corrals clean and dry.
- Scrub outside water troughs weekly.
- Remove anything that could collect standing water and serve as a mosquito breeding ground.
Horse ownership is exciting! Make sure you do it right. Get all the help you need to select your horse and begin a successful partnership with AQHA’s Guide to Buying a Horse report. It’s FREE!
Tractor Supply Co. offers a variety of Farnam fly-control products to help you battle flies, including sweat-resistant sprays, fly masks, feed-through fly-control products and fly traps.
In addition to these products, there are a few simple things you can do to control flies:
- Clear manure, trash and hoof clippings out of your barn.
- Remove soiled bedding promptly and replace it with clean, dry bedding.
- Scrub horse supplies, buckets and troughs thoroughly and often.
- Use fans to ensure a steady cross-breeze in your barn, since flies avoid the wind.
Make your horse and barn as comfortable as possible this summer by getting rid of flies. To locate your nearest Tractor Supply Co. store, visit TractorSupply.com or shop TractorSupply.com/horse.
Comments
12 Comments on “Fighting Flies”
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June 15th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Try attaching a few sandwich sized baggies filled with water on the overhead floor joists. I don’t know how or why it works, but it scares the heck out of flies and they leave. I’ve seen this work in Texas and was amazed.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:51 am
I would like to hear from people (other than those in the tv-add) that have used the “fly predator”. Do those little guys really work?
June 17th, 2009 at 10:10 am
In reply to Curtis’ question about the Fly Predators – YES, they DO work. I have used Fly Preds for over 9 years. I now have to remember to bring fly spray with me when I visit other farms because I am so not used to having flies anymore! Now for the particulars: You still must use manure management. In other words, you still must shovel, pick and discard the manure. ALSO, you cannot use fly sprays in the areas you have put out the ‘preds’, because the spray will kill the preds. The preds are said to travel about 200 feet – they eat fly eggs, pupae and larva. When there is no more for them to eat, they die. There are no known side effects to horses, cats, birds, humans, or any other animal – they are also environmentally safe.
A company will send you more preds about every 3 to 4 weeks. The ‘unit quantity’ is determined by the size of your horse herd.
I use a co. called ‘March Biological’(Brad). I have tried others but am most pleased with this co. Why? Because they send more preds per unit AND for a lower price. Also it is a small owned co. and there is more personal attention – he really cares about his product(s) and customers. Brad is also very knowledgeable about all his products. ( ph 1-800-328-9140, web http://www.marchbiological.com) Hope this helped you. Linda
June 18th, 2009 at 8:55 am
I previously boarded at a facility that used Fly Predators with great success. When we built out own place and moved our horses home, I was disappointed to find that they made no difference at all
in my barn. After talking to the manufacturer I realized that with horses and manure piles at both of our neighbor’s places, I could not sufficiently control the environment for maximum benefit. The same is true of feed through fly control. The flies from next door just come over to my place. If you are not close to other horses, they work great-if there are other barns nearby that don’t use them, you are wasting your money.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I don’t recall the “number” of preds per unit that each of the 2 companies I have researched offer, but March Biological’s price though lower at $12.00 than Arbico’s Fly Eliminators, when you add in the $4.95 shipping fee that March Biological charges, the total becmes $16.95, so they are $2.00 higher per month than Arbico Fly Predators.
July 16th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
We use the fly predators and they do seem to significantly impact the fly population. Now if I only could find a HORSEFLY predator. That would make my day!
September 11th, 2009 at 10:46 am
My uncle was an old-time rancher in Wyoming in the early 1900’s. He had all kinds of thrifty tricks for everything. His best fly/mosquito repellant was to place a few salt blocks with sulfer in them near all water supplies. You can smell the sulfer when the horse sweats but it works like a charm!
October 9th, 2009 at 6:49 am
I tried the fly predators and was sadly disappointed in the results. I even doubled the recommended amount without success. This year I used fly traps alone and it was a far more effective route. Perhaps the fly predators work in some areas. You just have to try them for a year to find out. Thanks for the other tips from readers for fly control. Will certainly try them next season.
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:50 am
Asking Kelly
salt blocks with sulfer for horses and Cattle? I currently use auto barn spray for horses but we are unable to control the cow flies when they are outside. Do you know if your uncle used the blocks on cattle also?
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 am
I have used fly preds for years with great success. My neighbors on both sides use them as well which is a major factor to success with preds. People have always been amazed when they come to our arena that we have so few flies. I skipped them last year (big mistake) and this year they were not as effective as before because the flies had gotten so bad. I used bait bags in addition to the preds which helped a lot. I am predicting next summer with preds will be much better since I used them this year.
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