Midge Fly Larvae (little red worms) in trough, harmful?

[Ellietotz]

Good afternoon everyone!
I noticed there are quite a lot of little red worms in the field trough yesterday and tried to clear out as much as I could. After some googling, I found out they are midge fly larvae.

Does anyone know if these are harmful if horses end up consuming them when drinking?

 

[Ellietotz]

Anybody?

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I don't think they're harmful our troughs always have them in but no horse has died yet.

 

[Ellietotz]

I don't think they're harmful our troughs always have them in but no horse has died yet.

That's good then! I wasn't sure, felt a bit mean making my horse drink that!

 

[Shay]

No - they are not a problem. They are actually a sign that the water is clean. If the water were loaded with organic debris or chemical residues they wouldn't be able to survive. But do bear in mind they will hatch. I don't know where you are but some species of midge can bite - and many don't. You can also make a small sideline selling them to people who have aquarium fish!

 

[Mike007]

or add a couple of goldfish.