santas_spotty_pony
Well-Known Member
Any idea what I can hang safely in the stables to reduce/deter midges as we are being plagued by them at the moment due to the warm and damp weather!
Midge traps for stables
- Thread starter santas_spotty_pony
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Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
I set up a wee solar powered fan for my old horse, who hated midges, and the stables are basically outdoor stables. I aimed the fan across the door. The stable has no access to a plug. Midges can't fly in any kind of wind. Well, that was my logic.
I'm not going to say that it was effective. But it was pretty funny because I had solar panels hanging from the front of the stable. I'm sure everyone else at the yard thought I was bonkers.
It kind of worked, but not that well. Couldn't get a fan with enough power to strongly deter midges. Eventually, the horse knocked the fan down, and that was the end of that. It was a cheap, sh1tty fan.
The only thing I could do that was actually effective was keeping the horse in a fly mask and fly sheet 24/7, even when she was in.
Because there is no thing you can "hang safely" to reduce or deter midges. Mwahahahahaha.
Other than train your horse to take up smoking.
I'm not going to say that it was effective. But it was pretty funny because I had solar panels hanging from the front of the stable. I'm sure everyone else at the yard thought I was bonkers.
It kind of worked, but not that well. Couldn't get a fan with enough power to strongly deter midges. Eventually, the horse knocked the fan down, and that was the end of that. It was a cheap, sh1tty fan.
The only thing I could do that was actually effective was keeping the horse in a fly mask and fly sheet 24/7, even when she was in.
Because there is no thing you can "hang safely" to reduce or deter midges. Mwahahahahaha.
Other than train your horse to take up smoking.
JBM
Well-Known Member
Get fake dragon flies on string
Might help?
I’m heard they deter flies
Might help?
I’m heard they deter flies
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
If only….
Highmileagecob
Well-Known Member
Wonder if a citronella block wedged in the beams might help? Oil of citronella soaked cotton wool in a jam jar placed out of reach? Would spraying the stable with repellent help?
Glitter's fun
Well-Known Member
I live in midge-central.
Things my neighbours have tried that made no difference - expensive (very expensive) huge gas powered trap , pongy things that burn citronella, pongy things that don't burn (peppermint oil, lavender), garlic washes, witchcraft, African drumming, *
Things it seems midges really don't like - moving air, sunshine, a good tidy up (- move that old bucket with green water in it, fix any poor drainage, cut any undergrowth, trim bushes & make sure grass verges are very short), put a very small drop of fairy liquid in every place such as water butts or troughs where still water could let them breed, paint everything that doesn't move white, put pale coloured clothing on everything that moves, especially at dawn and dusk.
Things that probably don't make much difference but are still satisfying - Put up nest boxes to encourage swallows, so you can watch them swooping about eating the little blighters.
*my neighbours are a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
ETA would it be wrong to tell my neighbours about fake dragon flies?
Things my neighbours have tried that made no difference - expensive (very expensive) huge gas powered trap , pongy things that burn citronella, pongy things that don't burn (peppermint oil, lavender), garlic washes, witchcraft, African drumming, *
Things it seems midges really don't like - moving air, sunshine, a good tidy up (- move that old bucket with green water in it, fix any poor drainage, cut any undergrowth, trim bushes & make sure grass verges are very short), put a very small drop of fairy liquid in every place such as water butts or troughs where still water could let them breed, paint everything that doesn't move white, put pale coloured clothing on everything that moves, especially at dawn and dusk.
Things that probably don't make much difference but are still satisfying - Put up nest boxes to encourage swallows, so you can watch them swooping about eating the little blighters.
*my neighbours are a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
ETA would it be wrong to tell my neighbours about fake dragon flies?
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EventingMum
Well-Known Member
We had a Midge Magnet machine at our previous house which was surrounded by trees and high hedges which made it paradise for midges. It worked very well with some provios - you had to start using it well before the midge season started so they hadn't already started rapidly breeding and site it according to the layout of where you were taking into account trees etc. You also had to empty it at least daily but it caught thousands of midges every day and meant the garden was usable.
Friends hung big electric fans in the rafters pointing to the stable doors (they had plenty of height in their stables) and the midges couldn't fly against the air current so the horses weren't bothered by them, they were very effective.
I also had a UV insect killer in the passageway outside the stable of a horse with sweetitch and I think it helped once the horses got used to the sound of flies etc being zapped as anything larger than midges made a bit of a noise!
Friends hung big electric fans in the rafters pointing to the stable doors (they had plenty of height in their stables) and the midges couldn't fly against the air current so the horses weren't bothered by them, they were very effective.
I also had a UV insect killer in the passageway outside the stable of a horse with sweetitch and I think it helped once the horses got used to the sound of flies etc being zapped as anything larger than midges made a bit of a noise!
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
I heard somewhere that you need some kind of permit for those midge magnet machines because they are so effective at killing them that you might damage the ecosystem if everyone in the Highlands had one.