Black flies :(

[Gloi]

Great. Spring is here and the horses have gone in the summer fields.
Came to my lad today and he had a swollen sheath due to having several black flies stuck to it sucking his blood
I tried lots of things last year to try and put them off biting him there without much success
I left him with neem on it today but it was only partially successful last year
I don't want to rug him because he isn't bothered too much by flies anywhere else, just on his sheath.

What has anyone found to work? I know the black fly season is short but they are nasty while it lasts.

 

[PurBee]

I sympathise...my gelding is the same.

i rotate sprays...he hates being sprayed ‘down there’ but i catch him off guard! I think anything with a strong scent will put them off at least.
ive lathered on aloe vera also, it helps cool down the itch if the bites, and also leaves a sticky layer the flies get stuck in and die. I suppose vasoline would work as a ‘fly grease trap’ too and keep them off from bothering to pierce the vasoline to bite and feed...worth a try?

 

[Gloi]

Of all the places I've kept ponies only this place and one in Cumbria have been so bad for these damn things. He has neem and flyspray on now so I'll see how many are on him tomorrow. I'm not too keen on using vaseline yet as he still has a thick winter coat round there so it will make one hell of a mess but I may give it a go. To be honest he isn't too bothered about the flies but his sheath is already twice its normal size and they've only been out since saturday.

 

[Kit06]

I always use a thick layer of vasoline to prevent this on mares udders and midline of the belly. It can get a bit gunky but it works

 

[Evie91]

Flies and midges today have been horrendous! Don’t do what I did once and ’protect’ the area with sudocreme- they all stuck to it, pretty sure they couldn’t bite through but can’t imagine a load of dead or dying flies stuck on skin is pleasant either! We live and learn!!

 

[clairefeekerry1]

They are gross. I was going to use sudocreme so good to read not too! I was maybe going to try a fly gel?

 

[Carrottom]

Last year I used biteback products repel gel and found it fairly effective and not too messy. Fortunately it has been quite breezy here so far.

 

[Welsh Dragon]

I use battles summer fly cream on boys sheath. Gloves are a necessity as it is bright yellow and it stains.

 

[emilylou]

Battles Summer Fly Cream! Works a treat and you only need to apply it every few days. In my opinion the only fly repellant that actually works. Can use it on cuts too