at my wits end with flies!!

[myprincess]

Hi is anyone else having a major problem with flies this year? They ar out in full force! Unfortunatly my horse is on box rest all summer with a tendon injury and the muck heap is near his stable. He has a fly rug on and im soaking him from head to toe in fly spray twice daily but he is still getting really agitated with them especially round his legs. Anyone know of any remedies or what i could do to keep them under control? TIA

 

[Alec Swan]

I'll send you a PM and suggest a remedy which WILL, if you follow the instructions to the letter, give you AT LEAST four months fly-free!

Alec.

 

[WandaMare]

I tried one of these fly traps when my pony was on box rest, didn't totally get rid of them but made a big difference. Be careful of where you place it though, when I bought in my older mare she started to salivate badly, she seemed to be sensitive to the smell. So I relocated it from under the overhang at the front of the stables to round the side, down wind of the horses. Might be worth a go.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flys-Away-R..._sim_86_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0QX6PMDCVQRN2K1W1Y0A

If you look on amazon there are a few different ones to try.

 

[Tobiano]

have you tried deosect? it is supposed to keep flies off (I had some for lice treatment but thinkit is a fly repellent as well). Mine came from the vet, don't know if you can get it over the counter.

Yes the flies are awful this year - I think they arrived late but are making up for lost time!!

 

[Fransurrey]

Would a beaded curtain help? Apologies if that sounds nuts (it probably is!), but it would allow him to poke his head out, but reduce flies in the stable. I'm sure I've heard of people using them!

 

[Equi]

It's been raining here non stop so we haven't had many flies.

 

[[100323]]

I feed Brewers Yeast, it is meant to help with fly problems. Mine do not seem to be bothered too much by them this year. I have hardly used any fly repellants so far this year.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

there are fly rug type things for the legs which you can buy like mud fever boots but fly rug ones.

 

[fuzzymooch]

Yep, flies awful this year up here, big guy had bites all over his face even with spray and mask! ended up looking poxed for a few days bless him. Ok now though. We got a spray for the stable floor I think is called Eucalyptus 360, it disinfects and is supposed to help get rid of flies, plus you can put a bed straight down over it, has worked great for us. I had a citronella candle in one of those little metal buckets from a DIY store put up on the rafters in my old boys box. As it warmed up the wax would melt and give off a nice citronella smell. Probably it's only ok if you have a non inquisitive furry OH and wide rafters but it might help

 

[Hawks27]

My horse was on box rest following laser op so had open wounds, scrubbed and disinfected stable then got pure citronella oil and rubbed on walls and beams round door frame. left fly rug on during day nice deep bodied one. mixed more citronella oil into sudocream ( had the specific nettex cream but to thin and runny) as it doesn't melt run off and applied to his delicate areas and as close to ounds without riskof it getting in this only needed applying every other day an thoroughly bathed areas in between applications. I also spray his fly rug with shoo fly and he has a full face mask. he was quite comfortable and no infections

 

[Birker2020]

I find Phazer is an excellent http://www.horsehealth.co.uk/essentials/fly-prevention/chemical-fly-sprays/power-phaser
Its very powerful and seems to deter them. Maybe you could hang some fly papers around the outside of your stable. This would catch a few and be cheaper than an electric fly killer.

 

[_HP_]

Try a fan in his stable ☺

 

[tallyho!]

So am I OP!

Over the years we've all tried one thing and another and it seems that some years it works, some it doesn't I have no idea.

DEET seems the only thing that will keep flies off us at least for the duration of a hack. Otherwise I just leave the horses to deal with it. They have flicky skin and forelocks for a reason. I Just fit a flymask on to stop her eyes from weeping.

The only thing I would like to try is the mediteranean fly traps you see everywhere in Spain... I'll get around to it but I have a few friends in the med who use it around the home... I imagine it stinks because...

Well... you basically put a peice of meat in water at the bottom of an old coke bottle or something, burn a few holes around the sides. Screw lid on and hang somewhere. The flies are attracted to the stench and go in but can't get out. So they all die.

Can't say I'd volunteer to clean it out would you??

 

[lamlyn2012]

Red top fly traps are supposed to be good but I have made my own, similar to as described above by Tallyho. There are quite a few illustrations on the web and they are fairly simple to make. Next year I will get them out earlier in the season. The more you trap the less can breed.