Tips To Protecting Your Horses Against Insects

Warm weather plus horses unfortunately equal flies and other winged pests. Nasty, biting insects not only irritate horses and aggravate their owners, but they can spread parasites and the viruses and bacteria that cause several equine diseases. Even if you employ the most diligent control efforts, including regular manure collection and disposal, you can expect these insects to be present on your farm. Here's what you can do to make your horses more comfortable and your property less fly and insect friendly.

• Keep up with your waste removal program. It takes house and stable flies 10 to 21 days to go from egg to adulthood, so breaking their breeding cycle means getting fresh manure out of their reach weekly. Removing manure from the property would be ideal, but composting also works.
• Spread manure selectively. Avoid spreading fresh manure over pastures that will be in use during fly season; when manure is spread, apply it in as thin a layer as possible so it dries out quickly.
• Repair leaking plumbing. Dripping water creates a moist environment ideal for fly eggs. Periodically check faucets, pipes and waters for leaks, and repair them. Remove anything that holds rainwater, such as old tires and unused buckets, and fill in persistent or perennial puddles.
• Keep stalls dry. Stable flies are attracted to the smell of urine, and they lay their eggs in urine-soaked bedding as well as manure. Remove wet bedding from stalls at least once, preferably twice, a day. Sprinkling a little hydrated lime over wet spots on the stall floor can help deodorize and dry them out, reducing their appeal to egg-layers.
• Keep drinking water fresh. Rinse and refill water buckets daily; dump old water in an area where it won't create puddles, preferably outside the barn or into a sink or drain. If stall is vacant for more than a day, empty the water bucket and place it upside down to dry. Skim algae and floating debris from troughs daily and top them off with fresh water.
• Set fly traps or use bug zappers. Traps are an effective way of reducing the adult insect populations, but in general they work best in smaller, enclosed areas and in conjunction with other methods of fly control. Bug zappers are the familiar blue-light devices delivering a satisfying sizzle when flying insects hit the electric grid; one drawback is that they also attract beneficial bugs. As with any electrical appliance used in the barn, make sure the zapper is plugged in, grounded and secured where it can't be knocked over.
• Apply repellant's. Many effective commercial repellents are on the market as are numerous essential oils which are common ingredients in repellents, both commercial and homemade. The first time you use any substance, be sure to check your horse for sensitivity. Apply a small amount to a small area of your horse's skin that doesn't come in contact with tack and wait a few hours to see if a reaction occurs.

1. Don't overcrowd pastures.
2. Clean up grain spills and decaying vegetation, such as grass clippings and uneaten hay in pastures.
3. Deworm your horses on a regular basis.
4. Outfit your horses in fly masks.
5. Provide a shady shelter as a refuge from biting flies for pastured horses.

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