FLIES

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GAILS

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IS THEIR ANYTHING THAT IS SAFE TO SPRAY IN THE BARN TO HELP WITH FLIES?
 
There are a wide range of chemicals you can use to deter flies, but they are CHEMICALS. And you may need to use a LOT. We started using fly predators last year and it made a *huge* difference, and it is a natural, "green" way to go. We aren't harming the good bugs, but drastically reducing the flies. You can read more about fly predators at Arbico.com
 
yup, thats what were using to keep the flies down. this is our first year using them so i hope they help! my friend uses them and she said they make a big difference.

You can also hang up fly traps, they are just filled with water and mixed with a chemical to attract them to and inside the bag. There are fly tapes that the flies get stuck to.

We also have a mosquito magnet, we've used that even before we had horses, and it really cuts down on mosquitos and other flies.
 
The flies this year seem especially bad here. I use fly predators in my smaller barn, and they do a great job. We have a fly spray system in the big barn and either flies are getting resistant, or they have changed the chemicals because it's just not knocking them down this year.

As far as what to spray on the horses individually, Endure works well for me.

Jan
 
The flies are starting to arive up here too
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. I want so badly to just get a spraying system installed but not the slightest clue where to start looking.

The flies are not that bad, but, the miscito's (spelling?) are horriable, i feel bad for the horses outside, we have a creek right behind my main pasture too so that just makes it that much worse. Reminds me, i need to pick up some miscito spray for myself so i can wear shorts out to the barn in the evening.
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I need to order a case of fly spray in bulk, does anyone know of a good brand that last long and repel miscitos ?

Leeana
 
Does anyone know how many predators that you get with arbico?

We did Spalding Labs last year and they tell you that you get 10,000 per package.

But in looking around on the arbico site it doesn't tell you. I just can't compare apples to apples this way.

But their bags do look bigger than the Spalding Labs packages.

Can anyone help me compare?
 
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Here is the chart that tells you how many you should get. I ordered from Spalding Labs last year too, and am getting more units this year from Arbico than I did last year, and the packages are lots bigger this year, so they should be very comparable. I did try to re-order with Spalding this year but their website was not cooperating with me so I checked out Arbico and theirs was super-easy, AND had way more info about the fly predators than Spalding had. Guess I've switched!!
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And so far I've seen about two flies.
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I'm getting a mister if it gets bad. For now the fans keep them at bay.
 
I've been using the fly predators and was very hopeful but they don't seem to be working well for me. Do you all find you need more than the recommended amount? I don't have a lot of room (1.5 acres) and have close neighbors (and am a bit of a clean freak LOL) so I am fanatical about cleanliness but we still get a lot of flies. Do you guys use the chart to decide how much to get or do you order some extras? The only thing I can think is I either need to order larger amounts or maybe throw a bunch over my neighbor's fence since she has a dog rescue with a lot of dogs on the property LOL
 
We use sticky tapes that we get at TSC on a huge roll.

They work really well except the odd time we "snare" a bird, which really bothers me.

Most times we can get them off the tape and they are none the worse for wear.
 
Last year we used Fly Preditors. Since we moved to this other area our neighbors have cows. I woud have to buy extra fly preditors etc. to maintain them to a lower level. My sister, who has Quarter Horses, has started using garlic powder on two geldings. She has done this for two months and you can tell the difference. The flies don't like to even be around the poo as much either. Between these two I am going to try the garlic powder.
 
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Shauna

Last year we used the fly predators and they did well for us. I think in the literature it says that you aren't to use any other fly sprays as they will kill the predators also. And you have to have some poo to keep them around. So maybe you were too clean for their liking.

We also live in a neighborhood where the lots are 3-10 acres and about 60% of the neighbors have livestock. We only bought the 10,000 predators and saw a big difference.
 
Arbico has a solar fly trap that is safe to use with the predators. I have two and catch lots of adult flies. They could be from my neighbors . The traps , good pick up, the predators and now I am using Bug Check(natural vet Dan Moore) . I don't see many flies.

Emma
 
Something else I've found that helps is cedar shavings. I mix just maybe 1/4 of a bag into the stall with regular bedding - smells nice and repels insects. If you use them, be sure and watch your horse for allergic reaction, I've not had any problems though. I had forgotten about hanging the clear bottles or plastic bags with water - did that at my other barn and for some odd reason flies don't like it. I've seen them hung in barns, convenience stores, lots of people swear by it.

Jan
 
We've used fly predators since 2000 on and off. At our old place we used them then started using them here again in 2003 and have ordered from both Spaulding and Arbico. Arbico gives more and boy don't leave them at the post office - we've gone their a couple times with 100's of the beggers already hatching.

I know we switched from Spaulding to Arbico because of the cost to predator number at the time.

This year we just ordered as life just gets busy sometimes! What a difference not starting in March like I usually do! Lots of flies on the horses and around the house - drastically diffferent not using the fly predators. I'm going to just order from now on when they send the reminder - they give you a few extra packages that way too.

Arbico also sells the mosquito dunks/bites which are great for mosquito control. There are other organic products too for fleas, termites, ants, etc.

Right now though until the predators are here we also use fly traps w/tape around where the horses are fed.
 
we have absolutely no flies. zero. nada.

I use Solitude IGR, a feed thru fly repellant. It works AMAZING! I used it last year for the first time (didn't start it until May and it still worked). Fly eggs can't hatch on manure that comes from horses fed Solitude.

I started it this year in early April and I have to say -- it's very effective.

The only downside (actually there are 2)

1) all the horses have to eat it, so if you have a picky eater, flies can still hatch on those piles

2) it's really expensive.
 

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