Site Menu:
This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below: |
HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Routine Horse Care » Controlling Houseflies and Biting Flies » |
Discussion on Face flies | |
Author | Message |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 7:37 am: I have a dillema, Hank hates face flies to the point of when riding him he grunts and jerks his head and/or head tosses when one lights on him.I got a mask you can use while riding and it works great. BUT it is a little ridiculous the way he acts...even in pasture. Right now the face flies aren't too bad so I decided not to put a mask on him in the pasture so he could get use to them. The 1st couple days he did the grunting head jerking, but now he has accepted the flies aren't going to kill him. I would like to leave him "maskless" for a while longer...for the fact I've done this before and soon as I started using the mask the behavior returned. Actually I would like to let him deal with it all summer. As I stated above right now the face flies aren't bad, BUT now he has a runny eye, then again he gets runny eyes with the mask, so I'm not sure it is fly related. DrO. is there any major health risks to leaving "Mr. sensitive" maskless? I wash the runny eye daily. |
Member: muffi |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 8:51 am: Hey Diane - try Skin So Soft from avon - Pour a bit in to your hands and rub it about then caress Hanks face all over with it. I use it all the time - face and neck on both my boys. Sweet side affect too is that they are so nice smelling - like Horse Cologne! But it helps to deter the flies and if you get it in their eyes or nose or they lick each other - no biggie. Give it a try.I use a mask and the SSS oil ever day, but not so much for flies as we have so few this year but for the dust, that's what makes my guys eyes goo some. their paddock connected to the barn is so dusty this time of year - no rain in the last 2 months up here. |
Member: babychop |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 10:23 am: Thanks Muffi! Lurking & picking up hints. I can't keep a fly mask on my colt, he just HATES them so will try SSS. Do you recommend the oil or the lotion? |
Member: zarr |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 11:17 am: Skin so Soft 2C, apple cider vinegar 1C and eucalyptus oil 1tbs. and water 1C in spray bottle. It is an old receipe used by the forest rangers and it really works BUT does have to be applied twice a day and by hand on the face. My husband calls it "girly" spray so everyone does smell good even the sprayer! Cindy |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 3:38 pm: Thanks... See Hanks problem is behavioral, I CAN keep the face flies off, but he acts like an idiot when one lands on him. Now I don't think I would want face flies on me either, but he needs to learn how to accept a fly on his face occasionally with out flipping out doesn't he?.The boy is a character I have to give him credit for that anyway! This is probably my fault, since he was a foal I have had masks on him, so he really never learned that YES horses do get flies |
Member: babychop |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 5:55 pm: Oh I love a character! They're just so darned entertaining... My first horse (gelding) was quite the booger butt, into everything & even swiped a burrito out of my hand once...I don't blame him for not liking the face flies, I don't think any of them do and none of the fly sprays out there do much for very long. I'll usually wipe the clear SWAT around their eyes but anything you use will have to be done daily if not more often to be truly effective. My mare & foal will keep a mask on only if they've got the double velcro catch, Hambone, however, has them off in minutes, they seem to offend his sensibilities... I got home last night & his eyes were literally covered with flies. It just kills me. |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 6:23 pm: Years ago I tried SSS on my horses...had 12 at the time...2 of them started loosing massive amounts of hair from it so quit using it and never tried it again. I didn't mix it with anything tho I don't think.Andrea this horse is hilarious, I've never owned such an "expressive" smart horse before, tho he can be a challenge at times. I want him to have face flies so he gets use to them, pitching a fit because he has a face fly is entertaining in the pasture, but not when I'm riding him I have seen people braid in or tie those cow insecticide ear tags in the forelock/mane or put them on the halter if you leave that on...it seems to work very well with keeping the face flies off. |
Member: shirl |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 6:41 pm: Here is a variation of Cyndi's which I used on Sierra. 1 C. white vinegar, 1 C. SSS Bath Oil, 1 C. water, and at least 1 T. of Eucalyptus essential oil. I have also substituted Lavender Oil for the E.It worked but as has been mentioned, needs to be applied at least 3 x a day. Best of luck, shirl |
Member: dres |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 6:44 pm: Diane i have a mare that strikes at the flying pests.. last show going down center line we ran into a wall of nats.. yup , she was striking at em .... got to love these horses.. ?????On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots.. |
Member: kbaxter |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 7:08 pm: I have a mare who does the same thing too. She also kicks up at her belly when they land there too. She also hates fly masks, they never make it through a season so this year I didn't even bother. I put swat on her face and have big fans blowing so it helps to keep them away. I have also done several things this year to help keep the population down. I use Solitude IGR, the Fly Predators and tons of traps. Not too mention cleaning their stalls 2 x's a day. I live in Scottsdale out in horse country where there are horses on nearly every parcel. Makes for lots of flies. Anyway this doesn't answer your question about how to correct his behavior which I don't have an answer because with my mare once she is kept busy when we are out riding she doesn't react to them it's just when she is in her stall or turned out. |
Member: zarr |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 7:09 pm: I hate to ask but what kind of rodeo takes place when one of those really LARGE black horse flys land on Hanks butt??? Cindy |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 8:28 pm: LOL Cindy, he reacts like all horses to those!BUT you should see him when a Bot is near by. Bot season is the most hilarious around here with Hank. 1ST.... he freezes like a statue, no matter what he's doing.....even if a leg is in the air...no kidding! Then gets this look that is indescribable. That's how I know the bots are here. 2nd... if the freezing like a statue doesn't work, he'll run like a racehorse to the lean and stand with his head low in a corner....hiding from the bots LOL. 3rd.... if freezing and hiding doesn't work, he starts breaking out in a wringing sweat, then starts to colic from working himself into a tizzy fit. Now freezing like a statue and hiding from the bots does seem to work, out of the 3 horses Hank very rarely has a bot egg on him LOL. Gotta Love them |
Member: karent |
Posted on Friday, Jun 27, 2008 - 9:09 pm: I have tried skin so soft mixed with vinegar, water and eucalyptus unfortunately my horse was allergic to eucalyptus. I live in New Mexico and have tried all the non toxic fly sprays out there. Unfortunately, they only work for a short period of time.I try not to use too much oil based fly spray on them, only when the deer flies and mosquitos are bad. What I do use on my horses when I go trail riding up in the mountains is human Deep Woods off. It works great and keeps the bugs off them for a good 4-5 hour trail ride. I have no idea how to correct Hank's behavior, but he certainly sounds like a character. |
Member: zarr |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 1:18 am: Diane, that is what Whiskey does with the black horse flies except he bucks all over the pasture til he un-seats it! Now Pest she has the best plan when it shows up on her she goes to the nearest horse and passes it off and poof she's gone! I'm with Hank hate bots! They are all very entertaining ,our horses! Cindy |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 7:21 am: I put fly boots on Hank now when bot season starts, that seemed to help him "emotionally" quite a bit.He'll still do the statue freeze, but once the bot moves on he's ok. What is it about bots that drive him insane I wonder...I think he'd rather have one of those B2 bomber flies, at least he can DrOp and roll to get rid of them. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 8:44 am: My personal experience and research with Skin So Soft is that is not reliable, for reliable repellant action see the article on Controlling Flies. Diane, the most common problem that occurs with a horse with that kind of reaction to flies would be self injury while trying to avoid the flies. Other possibilites are habronemiasis and sarcoids.DrO |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 9:17 am: Thanks Dr.O. he is an idiot, but does have a lot of self preservation...Hank loves Hank, so he never has done anything to hurt himself and I'm pretty sure he won't. I guess I will continue to put his mask on, the quiet ride mask with ears works well when riding. It's probably to late to change his mind about flies, and I guess I can't blame him.Also as a helpful hint for people with horses that don't like the sound of the off spray cans, the towelettes work very well, and actually seems to last longer than the spray. |
Member: dres |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 9:42 am: Yes, What is it about Bot flies.. I have two mares that go nuts when they are out.. My geldings do the Hank stance, freeze with airplane ears listening to 'em.. But my mares will run till they are dripping wet from them.. I bring them in during that time of year.. There is NOTHING that will keep them off of the horses... and with folks around me that don't worm their horses I haven't a chance in keeping the population down..On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots.. |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 9:49 am: Ann try the fly boots, Hank doesn't run himself with them on. For some reason he can somewhat tolerate the "Mane bots" it's the leg bots that get him. How those Bots know to go for the front legs is quite amazing actually, but the fly boots keep them off and movin' on. |
Member: ekaufman |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 10:58 am: Hi Diane,If your goal is to desensitize Hank, you might try rigging up a Spanish style Mosquero for his halter and turn him out in it for a few days. You can make one out of baling twine and tie some things to the ends to weight them and annoy him, err, get him used to having the world touch his face all the time. It probably won't help with things biting him, but it sometimes helps horses that react to things walking on their faces.... |
Member: zarr |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 12:34 pm: Dr.O does that mean the U.S. forest service is wrong? and how about all those people in Alaska using SSS to ward off their buzzing, biting insect hordes, my son is one of those??? I know no scientific data! Cindy |
Member: pbauer |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 - 6:03 pm: Dear All,Yes, flies can be nasty critters...as shown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdCcc-sUS1Q Joking aside, here is some information I plan to add to a Horse Health file: Fly Control (abridged) 1. Information from HA 2. https://www.northamericanequine.com/articles-TheFlyControlArsenal.html 3. https://equisearch.com/horses_care/farm_ranch/pest_fly_control/beatbotflies_07180 7/ 4. https://equisearch.com/horses_care/farm_ranch/pest_fly_control/sweetitch_062005/ 5. https://www.sweet-itch.co.uk/index.html We have something very similar to this for our horses. Enjoy Your Weekend! Tonya |
Member: babychop |
Posted on Sunday, Jun 29, 2008 - 10:57 am: RE: Bots, we don't have them in San Diego but I leased a TB to a gal in the bay area & she came back covered with them, had to really look to find a bot knife around here!!! What the heck are they anyway? Sorry to sideline, just curious!And Hank must be PURE entertainment, I do miss my Justa, he was a goofy nutjob as well... |
Member: pbauer |
Posted on Sunday, Jun 29, 2008 - 3:19 pm: Dear Andrea,DrO. has an excellent article and pictures relating to the bot fly: https://www.horseadvice.com/horse/messages/4/10025.html Equisearch also has some great information: https://equisearch.com/horses_care/farm_ranch/pest_fly_control/beatbotflies_07180 7/ If the above link will not open in your e-mail, go to the main HA discussion page and click #3 in my previous post. Kind Regards, Tonya |
Member: babychop |
Posted on Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 12:34 am: Ewww! Yuck! Nasty!!! Glad I shaved those things off Miss Kate! She had them all over her legs & belly... Thanks! I hope I never move to a place that has them! Face flies are annoying enough!BTW, thank you ~ As for the face fly thing, I wind up wiping spray or swat around my colt's eyes every day since he is the ultimate mask destroyer, can't find his last one, the one before I found at the bottom of the trough... I think he was trying to hide it. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 8:12 am: Hello Cindy,In short Cindy yes. I saw a recommendation by the US Forest service in Louisiana and based on that used SSS for an extended time however I continued to have problems with deer and horse flies with its use. I have seen numerous comparisions of SSS with our recommendations and invariably when efficacy is carefully measured performance was poor. Here are a few of many such reports: J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1989 Jun;5(2):247-50. Repellents and other personal protection strategies against Aedes albopictus. Schreck CE, McGovern TP. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Gainesville, FL 32604. Five chemical repellents, a controlled-release repellent formulation, Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil and permethrin-impregnated clothing fabric were assayed for personal protection against bites of Aedes albopictus. On skin the chemical repellents provided significant (P = 0.05) protection from biting; however, Ae. albopictus was more sensitive to the repellents than the standard, Ae. aegypti. Two experimental repellents provided 6-7 h protection from bites, 25% deet in ethanol provided greater than 8 h protection, a controlled-release formulation containing 35% deet provided greater than 10 h protection, and the Avon product provided 0.64 h protection from bites. Permethrin-treated fabric provided complete protection from mosquito bites through 0-5 washings. Repellent products containing greater than or equal to 12% deet should provide satisfactory protection against Ae. albopictus; the use of permethrin-impregnated clothing should provide additional protection. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1991 Mar;7(1):80-2. Repellency of two deet formulations and Avon Skin-So-Soft against biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Honduras. Magnon GJ, Robert LL, Kline DL, Roberts LW. Department of Entomology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307-5100. Two U.S. military issue deet repellent formulations (75% deet liquid and 33% deet lotion) and Avon Skin-So-Soft were tested against ceratopogonid midges under field conditions in Honduras. Test subjects were U.S. military personnel deployed to Honduras for training. Culicoides furens accounted for 96.3% of all midges collected. The liquid and lotion formulations of deet and Avon Skin-So-Soft provided 97.9, 95.9 and 71.4% protection, respectively, compared with the untreated control. Both deet formulations provided significantly better protection (P less than 0.05) than Avon Skin-So-Soft. The latter provided protection by trapping the midges in the oily film and not by repelling the insects as did the deet formulations. Note above that it found that SSS would repel mosquitoes for about half an hour and concering repelling midges some repellant action was found but it was inferior to DEET and was based on the oily residue trapping the insects and not on any repellant action. I would maintain larger biting flies do not become trapped and will continue to bite in my experience. DrO |
Member: zarr |
Posted on Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 11:09 am: Dr.O all I can go by is my 4 horses and I've tried EVERYTHING to save them being eaten alive! If it were not for the SSS receipe above they would have fled or been eaten alive long ago. So it boils down to whatever works for one and their horses! Cindy |
Member: pbauer |
Posted on Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 1:30 pm: Andrea,Ewww! Yuck! Nasty!!! ... Absolutely. And...our, Topper, is also an ultimate mask destroyer. Best, Tonya |
Member: babychop |
Posted on Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 5:50 pm: Well Tonya, I've thought of duct tape but he'd probably eat that ~ lol! The only masks I've been able to keep on my mare are the double closure ones, Hambone can get anything off & I dare not leave him with a halter on just to keep a mask on him. Maybe someday he'll make the connection & leave on one for more than 5 minutes...Good luck Diane if you're still watching!!! Some horses are just more sensitive than others, maybe the trail mask is your answer to staying in the saddle. I would try wiping swat around his eyes for rides too though as that does work well for a while. Flies will still light briefly but they don't linger. |
Member: lhenning |
Posted on Wednesday, Jul 2, 2008 - 10:11 am: I thought there was another thread where people used petroleum jelly around the eyes to either ward off flies or make it difficult to bite (not sure which). Any experience with this method? |
Member: kriseyc |
Posted on Wednesday, Jul 2, 2008 - 9:23 pm: Hi Folks,I have used "SWAT", which is an insect repellent specifically for wounds. It has been remarkably helpful for the big biting deer flies that attack the sheath and udders. It's a bit expensive ( I don't use all over the body)...but is quite effective to spot treat. I apply a thin layer on sheath and inner thighs, and when it's very hot and I don't want to use a face mask...I put some on the ears, under chin and around face. (not above the eyes, in case it was to drip down). |
Member: paul303 |
Posted on Wednesday, Jul 2, 2008 - 10:26 pm: I have found Flysect - 7 the most reliable horse formulation. It provides about 3 - 4 hrs. of relief. There is a concentrate, but instead of mixing it as advised on the container, I mix it 2 or 3(H20)to 1. I found that it not only helped with the flies, but offered the best protection from disease causing ticks. When I ride out in the woods, I use Deep Woods Off on me and my horses during fly and tick season. A few years back, I had a season when face flies were horrific. I found War Paint to be very effective. It does leave a residue around the eyes, but it works for days. Because of the residue, I wouldn't use it on show horses. If you can get it, follow the instructions for application.When I lived in an area with culicoides, I had terrible problems with 2 of my horses. The only thing that worked was Swat ( this was in Swat's violent pink days ). Those 2 horses spent culicoides season slathered with horrific pink goo in their ears, on their manes and bellies and tail tops. Terrible to look at, but it kept them comfortable....I once bought a case... |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Jul 3, 2008 - 5:43 am: For face flies I recommend Vaseline around the eyes. It is non-irritating and in a side by side comparision our local 4-H group found fewer flies on the vaseline side when compared with SWAT or when used against pyrethrins.DrO |
Member: lhenning |
Posted on Thursday, Jul 3, 2008 - 9:43 am: Should I apply the Vaseline in a thick globby coat or just smooth it over the skin? I've been using this for a few days now. There used to be big bumps around my horse's eyes but I have seen none since trying this.Thanks! |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Saturday, Jul 5, 2008 - 9:05 am: I would experiment to find the least amount that stills works for you but I would not think big globs necessary.DrO |