Horses and humans agree, is there anything more annoying than flies? Ok, maybe mosquitoes. Regardless, out of control fly populations can make for miserable horses and riders alike. One can only swat so many and it’s hard to apply enough fly spray to horses or ourselves to ever ward them off completely.
In addition to an assortment of fly spray for horses and people, we have found a two-pronged approach works best in controlling flies. You have to manage the adult flies that are the current nuisance and also control the larvae so that new flies can’t hatch and add to the problem.
To control the adult flies, we use Fly Captivator traps from Starbar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAa-GuYdPAE We have four horses and I usually place 3-5 traps outside around the barn and corral. They are plastic jugs with lids that contain a dry powder attractant. You add water and place them around on the ground where horses and humans won’t kick them over. Some folks hang them but I think they are too heavy with the water you add and if it spills, well, yuck!! They are available in various sizes and are easy to use. You will be amazed at how many flies you trap!
To deal with the larvae, we use Fly Eliminators from Arbico Organics. It’s biological fly control. https://www.arbico-organics.com/category/fly-control-program. There are several companies that provide this type of fly control so you may want to do some research and shop around. We have had good service with the folks at Arbico. They are helpful and will customize a program for you depending on the number of horses you have and where you live (which zone of the country). They will also offer you a decent savings if you order for the following year in advance. We take advantage of the savings because we know that the flies will always be back!
The Fly Eliminators are actual tiny insects “gnat-sized parasitic wasps” to quote Arbico. These tiny bugs will not disturb you or any other animals but will get to work feeding off of fly larvae. On an agreed upon schedule customized for your specific zone, they mail you these gnats in sealed plastic bags that contain the gnats in a mulch type material. You may notice some have hatched by the time you receive them and other times you will need to store the bag somewhere warm and protected from light and allow them some time to hatch. Once you notice several crawling around in the bag it’s time to spread them around in areas that tend to be fly breeding grounds like where you water and feed, compost piles, garbage cans and manure and urination spots. The gnats are photo-sensitive so we wait until dusk and then begin to dig small divots in the ground, spread a bit of the mulch material into the divot and cover loosely with dirt. Spread the contents of the bag(s) out among all of the breeding ground sites and let them do their magic!