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Why fight flies?
Fly control keeps your horse comfortable. But that’s not the only
reason to minimize flies. Flies and other biting insects pose a major health risk to your
horse and you. Flies carry a number of dangerous diseases that
become more of a problem as fly populations increase. Flies live, feed and breed in filth, where germs, bacteria and
communicable diseases thrive. Good hygiene is critical to keeping
flies and other filthy problems under control.
Start with a strategy
Start your fly control program early to keep fly populations down
all season. It’s easier and more economical to prevent a heavy fly
build-up than to fight it. Effective fly control means eliminating flies on all fronts, at all
stages in the fly life cycle. Eliminating immature flies reduces the
number of biting, breeding adult flies you have to deal with. No single fly product will solve your fly control problem. You
need an overall plan to get rid of flies where they live, feed and breed.
For maximum effectiveness, attack flies on all fronts: on your horse,
in the barn and around outdoor areas.
On your horse
Your ultimate goal is to keep flies off your horse. On-horse
products include fly sprays, spot-ons, lotions, roll-ons, ointments
and fly masks.
Protect Sensitive Areas
- Fly masks are a very effective way to keep flies off your horse’s face and eyes.
- Fly masks with ears protect your horse’s ears from flies,
mosquitoes and gnats.
- Fly masks shield face wounds and eye infections from disease-carrying
insects to support healing.
- Apply a fly repellent ointment, lotion or roll-on around wounds and
sores to prevent fly-transmitted infections.
Out to pasture
- Pastured horses need longer-lasting fly protection when you
don’t spray them every day. Use a fly spray or spot-on with residual
control to keep them comfortable for days.
About ticks
- Ticks are notorious for transmitting Lyme disease and other
illnesses. Horses ridden through wooded areas or turned out to
pasture are exposed to these nasty bloodsuckers. Read the label
to make sure the fly spray or spot-on you use protects your horse
against ticks.
Read the label
- Read all labels thoroughly before use and heed warnings; mix concentrates with the EXACT amount of water recommended.
- Apply according to directions to the horse’s head, face, neck,
body, legs and tail.
- Don’t mix different kinds of fly repellents together.
Spray it on
- All fly sprays are not created equal. Some are made with high-tech
synthetic ingredients while others are more natural. Choose
what works best for you and your horse.
- For maximum effectiveness,
dampen hairs to the skin (but
NOT to the point of runoff).
- Direct sunlight and heat
breakdown chemicals that repel
flies, so don’t leave your fly
spray outside.
- For best results, keep your
horse clean.
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. Products
to use to control flies in the barn include feed-through fly control
supplements, premise sprays and sticky traps.
Feed-thru fly control
- Feed-thru fly control products eliminate flies in manure by keeping
fly eggs from hatching with an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR).
While the IGR 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-thru fly control program as part of an effective strategy.
Indoor fly traps
- Use odor-free sticky traps to catch flies in your barn. Avoid
using attractant traps inside since they draw more flies to the
area.
Fly behavior
- At night, flies congregate away from wind and draft, so be sure to
treat areas like rafters and ceilings.
- When temperatures exceed 80° F, flies feed on the floor. Put traps
on the ground and treat floors
with insecticides in warm
weather.
- Keep your barn clean and dry.
Remove wet bedding promptly
and replace with clean, dry
bedding.
- Clean/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,
clean up hoof trimmings after shoeing.
- Keep feeds 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.
Premise Control
- 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.
Keep it clean
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Dispose of all fly breeding material including manure, used bedding,
wasted 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.
Quick Reference chart of common equine insects
Fly Control: A Complete Management Guide Brochure (pdf) |
