Crab Flies

[RanchoAfrikaner]

I read a posting placed last summer about crab flies. We live in the south of Spain where these are a real problem and generally come from the cattle. The advice given in the posting was to remove them and squish them with your nails. Left to their own devises, a horse can have several hundred and they move quite quickly - we have 6 horses and this is not a practical solution. Our German vet here advised us to use dog Frontline spray and spray each horse once in each of the following areas - up under the back legs each side avoiding delicate areas on the boys, behind the tail stump (to effect the anus without spraying on the delicate membrane), between the ears and on the end of the tail so that they can swish it on their sides. Nothing seems to happen except that they all launch themselves in a frenzy and then try to resettle but the next morning - VOILA! NO FLIES! You need to repeat it each month but a large spray bottle goes a very long way! For those who have a lot of horses like us, it is at least an affordable solution.

 

[PennyJ]

Sounds brilliant to me, I can't bear squishing them, I have to have gloves on to do it which is counterproductive. Thanks for the tip. I shall make sure I buy the next lot of the dogs Frontline from the vets and specifically request the spray for him instead of the pour on I usually go for LOLOLOL

 

[RachelB]

Genius, must try that! I have only been able to cure the problem so far by removing and squishing them, but have not yet managed to prevent it. Normal fly sprays don't work!
We only have the occasional few, although we had a bit of a plauge of them a couple of summers ago

NASTY bug(ger)s!

 

[Sprout]

I hate trying to squish them, and no sprays so far have ever worked - I will give your suggestion a try - thanks.

 

[cazzr]

Can we buy it then or do you need a prescription? Don't have a cat or dog...
Millie doesn't seem to mind them but if it works I'd much rather they weren't all over her..

 

[Rainbowrider]

Does anyone know if this works for horse flies too?

 

[SpruceRI]

That's interesting thanks - it was me who asked about Crab flies once!!

I bought 2 New Forest fillies a few years ago and they came home with a nice collection of these darn flies, which jumped across to my other 2 ponies causing them to go into a frenzy, galloping about and mad tail swishing.

My farriers' sister lives in the NF and she told him to tell me to spray the undercarriages of the ponies with disenfectant as this is what she used to keep the critters away.

Unfortunately this wasn't possible at the time as the fillies were feral. By the time I could've done the spraying, I'd caught and crushed every single one of those sodding flies!

 

[Shellby27]

I too have bought foals from the forest which came with free crab flies! Those things gave me nightmares! They would fly at my face and attack me turning me into a screaming weirdo! I too squished everyone, but they are really hard! The way they walk sideways is just sooooo freaky too! Arrgggghhh the memories!

 

[kpeacey]

Hi

i was just wondering before i attempt the frontline solution if it has really worked for ponies in the New Forest which is a hot spot for the crab flies? Does it act as a repellant or do the flies still annoy the horse in the 24 hours it takes to kill the fly?

our horse goes bananas kicking out in all directions like he's possessed! this is really dangerous for obvious reasons. I have heard of ponies being sold away from the forest because they cannot tolerate them.

I also read about applying sudocreme around those effected parts too.

Any advice appreciated and i am willing to try anything!

katypoo.

 

[BentleyBelly]

Resurrecting an old post to see if anyone has tried this and if it worked, what is it that you actually need to buy? I have front line spot on for the dog, would that work? My riding this weekend was completely ruined by crab flies, pony was a absolute prat despite going out at 7 am to try and avoid the little nasties. I normally use the avon sss and this keeps everything but crab flies away.

 

[Rollin]

They are a problem in France too, called flat flies. I use DEET spray but also give horses field shelters and stable the most vulnerable. NAF d-itch on manes and tails and vaseline on private parts like udders/sheath area.

 

[Piglet]

Brilliant idea, luckily the little buggers don't come over to our side of the river but quite often horses which have been on the "wrong side of the moor" transport them over. Trying to cat h them is an absolute nightmare, although it is satisfying when you catch one and then the "pop" as they are crushed between nail and finger