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 Shoo Fly-How to Keep Those Parasite-Carrying Flies Away from your Horse
If you live on planet Earth, then you have had to have an encounter with pesky little insects known as flies at least a few times in your lifetime. For many years, people have been inventing all kinds of little gadgets and techniques to get rid these pests. Not only are these little pests annoying, flies carry some vile diseases, like tuberculosis, dysentery, typhoid, and conjunctivitis. If you own a horse, then you are probably familiar with all the different ways to get rid of flies or at least attempt to keep them at bay. Fly infestation is a common complaint among horse owners, because they can cause the horses discomfort, pain, colic, gastrointestinal irritation, and even death.
Flies are unrelenting little pests that basically live to continuously reproduce. The life cycle of a fly
from egg to adult is about 20 to 25 days, and in that brief time they stay busy by reproducing and annoying all those around them. One single female fly can lay at least twenty clutches of eggs throughout her short life. Each of these clutches of eggs can contain 40-80 eggs. This means that two flies can just as easily produce nearly 2 million breeding pairs in just 12 weeks. Theses astounding numbers are enough to make horse owners more wary in their fly control endeavors.
Controlling the flies in your stable can be a long enduring process. Pest control is much more involved than setting a few traps. There are many steps involved if you want to correctly rid your stable of these pests. Step one is to take preventive measures to reduce the number of flies you have to deal with. Step two is to look into all of the environmental measures that you can use in order to control the number of flies you already have. Step three is dealing with your fly problem by taking measures to protect the horses individually. Step four is using a biological method used to control the fly population. Its best to plan the attack by using many, if not all, of these suggestions, because controlling flies successfully requires more than one method.
Prevention: One of the main keys to successful fly control is to prevent them from inhabiting your stable and all your surroundings. If you can make the environment as uninviting as possible to the flies, then it is more likely that they will find someplace else to occupy. You should always keep your stable and horse living quarters dry and clean. Flies love manure and other unpleasant areas. What people see as disgusting, flies will see it as paradise. If you can follow these simple steps all year-round, then you will be successful at keeping the flies at bay.
Cleanliness: This is your number one defense against controlling flies. Always remove the manure on a daily basis. You can either add it to a compost pile, or let it dry in the sun. Rake up leaves and grass regularly and clean any spilled grain or hay as fast as possible and store all food in tightly sealed containers. You should also scrub any buckets thoroughly after feeding to prevent any flies from becoming attracted to the area. Clean bedding on a regular basis to avoid a build up of moisture or dirt.
Use a feeder: Its safer to keep the horses grain and hay in a feeder instead of on the ground. If left on the ground, the food can become moist when on the ground and become a great nesting place for flies. If the flies lay their eggs in moist feed, a horse can ingest the eggs.
Standing water: Like a nice cool pool in the summer time, standing water is very attractive to flies. You can prevent any bodies of water from becoming stagnant in or around your stable by installing dry wells beneath outside faucets to prevent any water from accumulating.
Garbage: This is fly heaven. Be sure to keep all garbage sealed tightly and placed far away from the stable and living quarters.
Ventilation: Having suitable air circulation is crucial in keeping your stable dry and uninviting to flies. If at all possible, install fans to help the process.
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