From the article: Natural Pest Control Tips for Your Horse and Stable
Share your tips for natural and environmentally safe pest control. How do you control stable flies and other biting pests around your horse and barn? Share Your Tips
A Good Tip For a 'Fly-Free' Day or Two
- Try spraying your horse/s with Citronella oil, available from a Pharmacy. It is great for repelling flies off of horses, and you can even put some on yourself! Don't spray it on you/your horse's face, as it is very strong. If not washed off, it should last for a day/two!
- —Guest AH
Fly Control
- I rarely use fly sprays on my horses and when I do I use a natural one diluted 50/50 with water. What most people don't realize is that most of the time the flies are much worse in the barn than outside. On a nice breezy day flies are not a problem at all. Its rare that you really need the spray, but most people use it out of habit I think. I also feed garlic every day during fly season. Pesticides have been linked to Parkinson's disease and whenever you spray you are inhaling a good bit of the stuff. Save your money and your health people! And of course the health of your horse.
- —KeepingItSimple
Rid your barn of flies
- This year I hung 1 liquid fly trap from the ceiling of my 3 stall barn along side of 5 sticky tapes hanging 6 inches apart. I have captured 1,000's of flies with this system. Give it a try!
- —Guest Patty Nixon
controlling pests
- I tried the apple cider vinegar in with the feed and on the 4th day my horse had gas colic. Very scary. So now I just stick with fly spray 3 or 4 times a day. He is allergic to insect bites.
- —247rider
Controlling Pests
- Two things that I have found that really reduced our biting insect problem was feeding our horses minced garlic and apple cider vinegar. The combination of these two works great and even better out on the trail because we don't have to worry about getting biten. Although the sweat from the horses and their breathe is not the best smelling, it really makes a huge difference for the horses and the riders.
- —THWAT
Insect Repellents
- You won't find a better repellent against black flies than Natrapel or Natrapel Plus (I haven't tried new Natrapel 8 hour on black flies yet). These work best on deer flies as well. Natrapel made a tack line version about 10 years ago, but they don't make that anymore. New Natrapel 8 Hour doesn't have the chemical DEET, so it might be a good one for horses (not tested on them though).
- —Guest horsefun
owners pride training
- My husband insisted on those fly preditors when we had our little ranch. they were amazing,even in the first year,it seemed like everyone who came to visit commented on how few flies we had on our place compared to other farms
- —opt123
