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 Maybe Someday
Posts: 4551
  
| Have a massive amount of biting black flies this year.
They are driving my horses crazy.
I keep them up and I spray them, use fly masks and fly boots
Curious if there is anything to treat the land, especially around
a small pond which seems to be the worst area with them.
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"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10794
 
Location: Kansas | Tennbarrelracer - 2018-06-01 8:13 PM Have a massive amount of biting black flies this year. They are driving my horses crazy. I keep them up and I spray them, use fly masks and fly boots Curious if there is anything to treat the land, especially around a small pond which seems to be the worst area with them.
I think you're doing all you can do. The biting flies seems to be kind of temporary and then make way for the stable flies which are more manageable. Biting flies don't have much interest in fly traps. They are dreadful. I especially feel sorry for the babies that have to fight them with nothing but their short little tails. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Black flies breed and lay their eggs around submerged vegetation, aka the pond banks which is why they seem worse there. There may be a pond treatment you can do? I’m not sure.
We have the same struggle with our creek as it only flows hard after a rain and there’s plenty of spots for them to reproduce.
Nasty bastards. It’s been a terrible spring for bugs here. We use fly predators but they are only effective against the flies that reproduce in manure. Gnats and black flies have been horrendous. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Black flies, aka buffalo gnats, are hideous vermin. Making a smoke for the horses to stand in works better than anything. They were so bad just to my north this spring that they killed a bunch of deer, cattle, and horses. There isn’t an insecticide that works on them that’s safe to use. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Three 4 Luck - 2018-06-02 2:55 PM
Black flies, aka buffalo gnats, are hideous vermin. Making a smoke for the horses to stand in works better than anything. They were so bad just to my north this spring that they killed a bunch of deer, cattle, and horses. There isn’t an insecticide that works on them that’s safe to use.
They're so bad around some of the the fish ponds that's it torture to work in them. My poor herd utilizes their barn fans as much as possible, but I still feel so sorry for them. |
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"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10794
Location: Kansas | When I watch footage of the animals in Africa, the closeups show soooo many flies on these poor critters. They once showed a young giraffe so covered with ticks it died from loss of blood. It's all just wrong.
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| Are you talking about big black horse flies or those little cattle horn flies? Both present problems and both hurt when they bite.
Fly spray has gotten so expensive that I started making my own again. I mix Permethrin, AVON SKIN SO SOFT, lemongrass oil and citronella oil. I get the lemongrass oil and citronella at the health food store. (Lasts forever). This mixture works great for the horn flies and mosquitos but those big black horse flies are tough. This does help a little. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 618
| I use fly predators and spray my horses daily with Endure fly spray regardless of they have a fly or not. Has worked excellent
Yes it's expensive fly spray but it works |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | iloveequine40 - 2018-06-03 2:42 PM
I use fly predators and spray my horses daily with Endure fly spray regardless of they have a fly or not. Has worked excellent
Yes it's expensive fly spray but it works
This is what we use, too. Although it does hurt my pocketbook!!! |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | streakysox - 2018-06-02 9:49 PM Are you talking about big black horse flies or those little cattle horn flies? Both present problems and both hurt when they bite. Fly spray has gotten so expensive that I started making my own again. I mix Permethrin, AVON SKIN SO SOFT, lemongrass oil and citronella oil. I get the lemongrass oil and citronella at the health food store. (Lasts forever). This mixture works great for the horn flies and mosquitos but those big black horse flies are tough. This does help a little.
Black flies aren't either of those things. We call them buffalo gnats here. They're evil and there is not a spray that works on them. Hot weather kills them, thankfully. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | http://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/news/20180404/buffalo-gnats-out... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 618
| Chandler's Mom - 2018-06-03 3:38 PM
iloveequine40 - 2018-06-03 2:42 PM
I use fly predators and spray my horses daily with Endure fly spray regardless of they have a fly or not. Has worked excellent
Yes it's expensive fly spray but it works
This is what we use, too. Although it does hurt my pocketbook!!!
It's the only way I've found to control those savages |
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | Totally agree... they are totally evil. I got bitten twice on my shoulder and it took days for the bites to heal. My doctor is a local boy -- and when he saw the horrid red welts, he said: "Black fly bites?" Yep, yep they are. We both chuckled about it, but cursed the evil things. No spray affects them.... the only relief for my horses are their super-high velocity barn fans. |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Delta Cowgirl - 2018-06-03 6:16 PM
Totally agree... they are totally evil. I got bitten twice on my shoulder and it took days for the bites to heal. My doctor is a local boy -- and when he saw the horrid red welts, he said: "Black fly bites?" Yep, yep they are. We both chuckled about it, but cursed the evil things. No spray affects them.... the only relief for my horses are their super-high velocity barn fans.
They make knots where they bite Chandler. Me, I just get the attractive welts!! |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I swell. I have some nasty pics I took of myself this spring. One I had an elephant ear. LMAO The other I had like 7 or 8 bites on my neck and shoulders and they swelled together into one gigantic welt. Mosquitoes avoid me but buffalo gnats think I’m a yummy buffet. |
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Biting black flies