03/02/2023
It is going to be an obnoxiously buggy year. We have not had anywhere near the normal level of freezing weather this winter, which means that the bugs are going to be OUTRAGEOUS. (We are expecting to see lots of hives....) Be prepared to step up your bug prevention game as a result. Here are our top ten tips:
1) Remove manure several times a day from stalls and paddocks, and set the manure pile as far away from the barn as is practical. Cover it with a plastic tarp.
2) Consider fly predators, fly traps, and feed through fly control even if you never have before
3) Wash and pushbroom down concrete barn aisles with a mixture of pine sol and water daily. It really does seem to help! Then, use large fans to dry completely with no standing water remaining. Those big powerful fans also help to keep flies at bay!
4) Keep water buckets empty, clean, and upside down every day or night while horses are turned out, and scrub out your water troughs with bleach and water at least every 3 days.
5) Work from the inside out: Increase your use of omega 3 supplements to improve the quality and resilience of your horse's skin. Corn oil is the least expensive, followed by rice bran oil. just a few ounces a day. It's calorie dense, so if your horse is also a hard keeper, you can slowly move up to 1 cup total daily. You can also implement feed-through fly control, which has a definite impact on the fly population.
6) Don't bathe your horse with detergents, shampoos or whiteners so often that you deplete the oils in his skin. Remember - dirt is a natural barrier, too.
7) Keep garbage cans tightly lidded, and wash them at each emptying. Trash cans are one of the worst fly contaminants in the barn.
8) Move your round bales, and scrape up the wet, messy area where the bale was.
9) Make whatever changes you can to avoid water accumulation/puddling/ponding on ground surfaces
10) Use strong fans, fly boots, sheets and masks as well as fly sprays on your horses.
For more tips and for a deeper understanding of our fly population, check out this excellent article on fly control by the American Association of Equine Practitioners. https://aaep.org/horsehealth/importance-fly-control