Fly solutions

Like ticks, flies can pose a host of problems for you and your horse. Besides being an almost constant annoyance during the warm season, fly bites can cause allergic reactions, be very painful, cause secondary infections if your horse rubs his bites, and can also transmit Equine Infectious Anemia, a potentially fatal disease.

Stable flies typically prefer to feed on the lower legs and undersides of grazers like horses and cattle, and their peak feeding times are in the early morning and late afternoon. Flies generally start emerging when the weather begins to warm, and in the Bay Area, usually stick around through the end of October. An effective fly control solution will likely be multi-faceted and involve both physical and chemical controls.

The best defense you have against fly infestation is to eliminate their breeding grounds. Stable flies love moist areas like wet bedding and old manure. First and foremost, it is of utmost importance to maintain proper sanitation around your barn. This includes keeping stalls clean and dry, ideally mucking on a daily basis, and removing all used bedding and manure to an area far from barns and riding areas. Even if you board, you can still do your part to keep an eye on your horse’s stall to ensure it stays clean and dry.

While proper sanitation will do a lot of keep the number of flies down, you will still need to take additional measures to protect your horse. Inside the barn, you can hang fly strips or traps. Take care when hanging these, and make sure you hang them well out of any curious horse’s reach. Some barns install barn misters that regularly spray fly control throughout the barn. While effective, misters can sometimes be controversial as there is constantly pesticide in the air, that both humans and horses can breathe in. To some, misters are a luxury, to others they are something to be avoided.

Physical barriers include those your horse wears. These are fly sheets, fly masks, and fly boots. All are made from thin, typically mesh material in order to provide protection from biting flies, but still be lightweight enough for wearing during our hot summers.

There is a relatively new fly control method on the market called Fly Predators™. Fly Predators™ are tiny parasitic wasps that feed on fly larvae, and can ideally drastically reduce the number of flies on your property.

Another option is feed-through fly control. This is a supplement to feed your horse on a daily basis that is supposed to reduce fly larvae development, but does not prevent flies from biting your horse. In the past, the toxic dangers of these products were unclear, but today there are a number of products safe to use on your horse. If you ever have questions about the safety of any pest control, don’t hesitate to contact your veterinarian. A more “natural” alternative to this is granulated garlic. This is also fed as a supplement, but an effective repellent to flies on your horse.

The last tool in your arsenal against flies is the one people are probably the most familiar with. Fly sprays come in a multitude of brands and strengths. The two major differences are water-based and oil-based sprays. Both can frequently be purchased in concentrate form for a substantial discount. Water based sprays’ efficacy will evaporate as they dry on your horse’s coat, while oil based sprays will remain effective for a couple of days, assuming your horse hasn’t sweated excessively or been bathed. Several of these products can be wiped on for greater control, and you can also try spot-on controls as well. Spot-ons are absorbed into the skin, much in the same was as Advantage or Frontline is for dogs.

It may take a bit of time and experimentation to find a fly control program that works for your horse. Not all solutions work for all horses, just as not all horses have the same reactions to flies. Just keep trying until you find the right solution!