Flies are bad for Horses!

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Flies are bad for Horses! by Auto Mist Insect Control System

Killing Flies

The fly is an enemy because it is one of the biggest disease carriers in existence.

The dangerous bacteria present in the wastes stuck to the mouth, footpads and hairs of flies may be deposited in food intended for livestock consumption. Fly feces, which contain disease-bearing organisms, can also contaminate livestock feed. One fly can carry over 33 million disease-causing microorganisms on their inner and outer body surfaces. Flies defecate every four to five minutes. Since flies have no teeth and must take their nourishment in liquid form, they spit on solid food and let the food dissolve before consuming it. Fly spit or vomitus, is loaded with bacteria and contaminates food, feed and surfaces.

Flies have been known to carry bacteria that can cause typhoid fever, tuberculosis and many other diseases known and unknown to man. A flies common life cycle is 21 to 25 days from egg to adult. A female often lays twenty batches of eggs during her thirty day life span. Each batch contains between 40-80 eggs. When the eggs hatch, the adult flies emerge ready to breed. The number of flies produced by a single pair of adults and their offspring in thirty days is a surprising number in the millions.

Stable flies, horseflies, deerflies, horn flies, and face flies affect your horse’s health and well-being. Stable flies, are very common. They are about the same size as a house fly but house flies just feed on garbage and spread filth; stable flies (both males and females) suck your horse's blood. The most common feeding sites include horse’s lower legs, flanks, belly, under the jaw, and at the junction of the neck and the chest. When stable flies are finished feeding, they go to rest and digest their meal.

The bite of a blood-sucking fly is painful and some horses have such a low fly tolerance for pain that they can start snorting and striking into a frenzy. Even the toughest horses that are subjected to a large number of stable flies, might spend the day stomping their legs which can cause damaging to legs, joints, and hooves, and result in loose shoes, and loss of weight and condition.
The first step in reducing fly populations is keeping the area clean. Fly’s breed in decaying waste. Moist, warm, decaying material protected from sunlight is required for fly eggs to hatch and in only 8 hours for fly larvae or maggots to grow. Good manure management and moisture control are the biggest factors that reduce flies from breeding. The practice of removing manure and wasted feed daily from stalls and pens is the key. To successfully decrease insect breeding areas, kill parasite eggs and larvae, manure must be taken care of effectively.

Standing water is very attractive to flies. It is a good idea to keep stagnant water away from your horse’s living quarters. Water left in buckets, on the ground and under faucets are a few examples of where to prevent water from collecting. Keeping your stable clean and dry prevents flies from wanting to make your property their home. Good air ventilation is very important for keeping your barn dry and uninviting to flies. Flies usually have favorite resting place. They commonly rest on edges such as electric wires, exposed ceilings and rafters. Flies especially like places that protect them from the wind.

Another way to reduce fly breeding is to keep food off the ground so that it can not become moist. Feeding your horse grain and hay from a feeder rather than eating from the ground is best. This keeps flies from laying eggs in the feed and the horse from digesting the bot eggs. Keep food/feed stored in sealed containers when possible and clean any spilled hay or grain immediately. Scrubbing feed buckets after use will help prevent flies from hanging around and making your stable their home.

One of the oldest ways to control flies is through the use of insecticides or fly sprays. This type of control method requires some form of application device. Insecticide fly sprays can be applied in many ways; trigger spray bottles, aerosols, hand held foggers, or automatic insect control systems. Automatic insect control systems are very effective and efficient, with use in stables dating back to the early 70’s.

Insect control systems automatically give a synchronized spray through strategically placed nozzles that evenly distribute insecticides over an entire facility.
AutoMist from United Spray Systems, Inc. offers a system to fit every size stable. The AutoMist system can be installed conveniently at the time of new construction, when additions are added or in already existing areas to effectively reduce insect populations.

Tens of thousands of AutoMist owners have found their systems create a zone of protection from flies and other insects.
Sian in Purcellville , Virginia wrote, “Thank you for shipping out my Auto Mist system on Monday - it arrived on Thursday. We installed it on Saturday with the help of our neighbor who bought an Auto Mist system from you a couple of years ago and recommended you. The system is WONDERFUL - we have gone from flies buzzing everywhere to almost no flies, except dead ones on the floor, in the space of 24 hours! We are fly free in the barn and an added bonus I wasn’t expecting is that we have less flies in the house. The barn is only 60 ft from the house so I guess we were getting “spill over’ from the barn. And the advice and service from you was just spectacular, my neighbors told me it would be. Great service, great product and I will be recommending you to others also."
AutoMist, automatic insect control systems, provides the stable owner with peace of mind knowing that flies aren’t bothering their horses.

Contact: United Spray Systems, Inc,
PO Box 86
Le Sueur, Minnesota 56058
Phone: 800-950-4883 or 507-665-2269
Email: sales@automist.com
Website: www.automist.com

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