FLY control

[snaffle]

These methods for fly control have worked for me for the past few years.

1. Sprinkle FLY BAIT in areas of the barn where the chickens can't get to it

2. FLY PREDATORS They are the BEST thing! I found the most economical place to buy them is March Biological

www.marchbiological.com/

Even though the suppliers always tell me that they can not be affected by early cold temps and rain.. I refuse to allow them to ship to me before the 3rd week of May . I accepted shipment one year.. as they recommended and I KNOW those little boogers got too cold and didnt hatch!! I know it I know it. They also can drown from too much spring rains... even though the salesman from another company had told me they would be ok. I KNOW they drowned. I know it I know it.

I sprinkle some predators around the manure piles and then push some old manure over the top of the predator eggs if the sun is going to be hot...

I also sprinkle some along the wall edges of the stalls (and make sure I don't deep clean all the way too the wall)

I also hang Styrofoam coffee cups in areas and put some of the predator eggs in them, and they simply crawl out as they hatch. This practice is much more economical than hatching stations.

I will never not order the fly predators again. They make my life so much easier.

3. I will feed GARLIC POWDER to each horse. It works from the inside out. I swear the garlic powder helps deter the flies.

Do not pay any attention to those stewpid stewpid articles that go around the internet the beginning of fly season when people start talking about garlic powder and horses. The article will tell how there was a study done and horses died from the garlic powder.

If you continue reading the articles.. you will learn that there were only a few horses in the study and they were fed EXTREME amounts of garlic powder.

I start in may feeding garlic powder. 1/4 tsp per horse per day, so they get accustomed to the flavor. I gradually increase it. By the end of July they are consuming 2 tablespoons per day.

I stop feeding it when fly season is over.

I order it from herbal.com

www.herbalcom.com/

It is important to buy a good quality garlic powder or you will not get good results. A restaurant quality would be best, but I have not been able to find a reasonably priced source.

I can not tell you exactly how much garlic is needed for one horse for a season because the number of horses here at my barn during fly season changes so much. I ordered 10 pounds for a season and had enough. That was for approximately 6 horses.

It had never gotten old on me... there is one shipping fee of $5 (or there used to be!!) per order, so I try to order 5 or 10 pounds at a time.

If you want to calculate, 2 tablespoons of garlic powder weighs
approximately .4 ounces (that is POINT 4 ounces and not 4 ounces.



5. I add APPLE CIDER VINEGAR to their feed once a day. 1/4 cup her day per head. When it is mixed with the garlic powder .... you will wonder what in the h*ll you are doing!! You will think the horses will NOT touch it.. BUT..

be prepared.. they will STAMPEDE to the barn when feeding time comes. They LOVE it!

I buy the apple cider vinegar by the gallons. Some grocery stores will put it on sale in the spring. I bought 10 gallons last spring for 5 or 6 horses and it lasted all season.

6. I rarely get to use my FLY CATCHING JUGS because I don't have enough flies to keep a good 'stink' going in them to attract more flies.(That is because of the other fly control methods I use) Sometimes after Aug 1 I can keep one going. I use catfish nuggets when I first start up one, or leftover sweet corn cobs (cooked)

6. STICKY STRIPS (25 cents each) will be hung when needed towards the end of July

I still use FLY SPRAY but not as much as without using these fly control methods.

Around the 3rd week of July the fly population escalates no matter what I do, without any of these controls, I am sure the fly problem would be terrible.

Now that I use this much fly control, we seldom have flies in the house anymore.

[linda]

I have a few things to add....
#1, the different fly parasite companies used different types and different mixtures of the little parasitic wasps. So if Snaffle, who lives in one part of the country, tells you that parasites from March Biological work great for her and you are her neighbor, then I would suggest buying from the same company she buys from and not go shopping around. If you buy from another company, the mixture of parasites you get may or may not be as effective for the type of flies and the area you live in. (Personally, I buy my parasites from The Source at www.sourcebiofly.com/ They have worked extremely well for me so I'm not shopping around for a better price.)

#2--I have found those fly jugs to be breeding grounds for flies. Once I quit using them, my fly population really decreased. Make sure you shake those jugs daily to drown ALL flies. You can see the maggots hatch inside the jugs. The flies DO escape. Put a clear plastic bag around your jugs, tie the top, and see how many flies end up in your sack.

#3--I hang some of those sticky columns (the "jr" ones) next to the lights in our ground-level "basement". Any fly that enters there generally goes to the light---and promptly gets stuck. It really has decreased the amount of flies that make it upstairs where we do the majority of our living.

#4--I made my own release stations with two peanut butter jar lids, a chunk of plastic gutter guard (very inexpensive), a chunk of nylon rope (shoelace size) and a safety pin closure (through the rope) to make sure that a nosy horse doesn't knock the lid off and spill the little guys. If you look at the design at www.sourcebiofly.com/ you can see how this goes together in minutes. I know these release stations work because you can see the little parasites crawling all over them for weeks on end.

It is so much cheaper just to get rid of your flies than it is to have to spray or blanket your horses daily.

[snaffle]

Linda I do remember you saying how you feel the jugs are breeding grounds for the flies, but I strongly disagree.

The underside of the cover and all areas around it must be completely and totally BLACK so the flies see no daylight or they can find the outlet.

When I have the jugs working in full force, I check them twice a day if not more. It is important to SHAKE the jugs once or twice a day in order to drown the flies that develop (?)

when I have seen a fly or two crawling out, that tells me there is sunlight showing thru.

Our fly population was greatly lessened years ago when the jugs were the only form of fly control. The only reason I got away from the jugs was because of the odor so close to my barn door, and visitors coming for lessons.

[linda]

I have never seen a fly jug with a black top---perhaps that is the difference. You may have access to a particular type of trap that many of the rest of us haven't seen.

And, you DO shake those jugs a couple of times a day to drown anything that hatches. That is the step that most people don't bother with.

How about a picture of your effective fly traps?

I really am glad that the jugs work for you. The more flies you can kill, the fewer there are to breed.

[kslongrider]

www.farnamhorse.com/products.php?cmd=listcat&mainkey=200006&key=300007&catmain=Fly+and+Pest+Control&cat=Fly+Traps

The two with the black tops on the right.

Barry, Kansas

[snaffle]

Thanks Barry, I have used 2 types similiar to those, even made my own that worked wonderfully.

Periodically I have had to check them for wear, and spray paint the undersides of the top part with black spray paint.

[linda]

I love those junior fly sticks on the left of the link. I hang one of those downstairs (think daylight basement) by each light that burns during the day. Any fly that enters at ground level usually ends up stuck to these.

I will remember that if I ever need fly traps to use BLACK lids. I think the only ones available here had yellow lids. Perhaps that explains the differences in our success rate.

[linda]

Equitrol (feed through fly control)----Do NOT use it with your horses. Lildot had it make two of her horses sick and I had it give another horse temporary (while she was on it) heart problems. Having a horse just walking along and then collapse into a pile with you is not very pleasant.... (One time I had a vet along, and the pulse told the story.) The company will tell you that it is not dissolved in the digestive system of the horse and passes through intact. Our horses beg to differ. And, yes, I wrote to the company--but they denied it could cause a problem. This also just happened to be about the same time that several horses were dropped dead on the race track during races for no apparent reason.

After I quit using Equitrol in the summer, my mare lived to the ripe old age of 36. She had Equitrol in the summer when she was 28-29 and the reaction to it was the reason that she was retired. She never had another similiar incident for the last 6 years of her life.

[foxtrot]

Wow... sorry to hear that. I used to use that all the time and never had any problems with it at all.

To save money, I bought stuff called Rayban (sp?) which is the active ingredient in Equitrol without the vitamins and other stuff added. Just mixed it in with their grain and had wonderful results.

We did have flies, but no where near the normal amounts. I would say an 80% or so decrease. It was great!

This only works if all the horses are on the program and if there are not other livestock around who are not fed it.

We loved the stuff and recommended it all the time. Sorry you both had bad luck with it.

[linda]

And that is what Farnam says is supposed to happen--absolutely nothing, except that flies cannot breed in the manure. Perhaps when you recommend it to others, you will warn them to watch for changes in their horses--lethergy was the common link between my horse and Lildot's horses. If there is an energy change, then I would get the horse off the stuff immediately. And it can be subtle, like it was with my mare.

Let's check to see if Lildot fed Equitrol or Raybon.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't feed the knock off either...after what I saw...however, I fed the Equitrol. I know others around here who were feeding it without incident. But Two out of three horses here became ill and that was enough for me to attack flies in a different manner.

[snaffle]

I have a problem giving any of my animals...

a chemical that goes into their bodies..
(aside from wormers )