Dealing with flies - Absorbine

Dealing with flies

We all look forward to summer and seeing our horses grazing in the warm sunshine, but no sooner does the weather improve than the flies come out! Added to that we have lovely hot days and then it pours with rain!

Summer showers followed by warm sunshine provide the ideal conditions for flies to proliferate, so expect the fly problem to be bad this year!

Advances in technology and an understanding of insect control indicate that a combination of management and chemical control now provides the most sophisticated and cost-effective means of protection.

Understanding the enemy is key to the winning the battle.  The majority of flies prefer to lay their eggs in moist, decaying organic matter, where the larva develops into pupa, from which the adult emerges.  The abundance of fly and insect populations is affected by temperature, moisture levels and humidity, and stables, yards and barns provide the ideal breeding environment.  The key to controlling numbers of flies and insects is to break the breeding cycle.

Preventing moisture in potential fly breeding areas is the critical factor in fly control and implementing some key yard management tactics can have a profound effect.

  1. Remove manure regularly. Keep the area around the muck heap clean and dry and ensure that the heap is as far away from the stables as possible.
  2. Clean up around taps and hosepipes and ensure that watering systems are well maintained to prevent leaks.
  3. A concrete apron with a gradient around stables and barns will help keep the area clean and dry.
  4. Remove accumulated bedding in hard to clean areas such as under feeders and automatic water bowls, in corners and around fences and rails.
  5. Ensure good ventilation and airflow to prevent moisture build up and allow bedding and floors to dry.

Biting and nuisance flies, lice, bots, mites and ticks can all cause damage and irritation to your horse.  With the variety of climatic conditions throughout the USA this problem is multiplied, and it is not surprising that some of the best insect control products have been developed there by the Absorbine® Fly and Insect Control Research Centre.

Their UltraShield® brand kills biting and nuisance insects on surfaces.  It contains active ingredients Permethrin and Pyrethrin, providing instant “knock-down” when insects come into contact with it, as well as a long-lasting protective “shield”.

UltraShield® is the ultimate insecticide for use around horses to protect against irritating and biting insects in and around paddocks, stables, field shelters, and is ideal for use in horse boxes.

If you are looking for an insecticide that really works – reach for UltraShield®, the one in the black bottle!

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