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Post by here to stay on Mar 30, 2017 12:58:01 GMT
These little bugs are nasty. I remove manure daily which helps but they breed so fast. Wet is their happy place and not do they have a lot to be happy about this year. I get bit by them too so I know a painful albeit short lived sting. It's the number of them that makes them so awful.
Poor Tessie is allergic to them. I take a insect spray bottle with me to give her a spritz every time I go out. No spray is effective for long no matter What the manufacturer claims.
I look at those cattle insect repellent ear tags and wonder if I put some in her mane and along the bottom edge of her blanket, it would keep them away.
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Post by mollymckee on Mar 30, 2017 14:50:29 GMT
I have found Vic's to be good at keeping the type we have here away. A few swipes around the horse really seems to get rid of them. A guy that packed into a wilderness area suggested using Vic and it does work well here. You may have a different type of gnat, be trying it is cheap!
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Post by here to stay on Mar 30, 2017 16:18:37 GMT
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Post by aoconnor on Mar 31, 2017 12:52:37 GMT
Gnats are bad here, but the mosquitoes are out in force already, more than a month early. I use SWAT, it is similar to Vicks but is a fly deterrent specifically. I put it under their bellies where the flies bite the worst, then a swipe behind each ear which keeps their faces clear.
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Post by here to stay on Mar 31, 2017 15:00:53 GMT
aoconnor, I have War Paint, which is the same idea. But it doesn't work well with the gnats. I'm blessed not to have many mosquitoes. Occasional horseflies come through. But if not for the gnats it would not be necessary to use any chemicals.
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Post by bergere on Mar 31, 2017 20:45:29 GMT
Never tried Vicks for that.... will have too. Maybe I will put some on me too. Walked around a shed the other day and inhaled a bunch of them.  |
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Post by aoconnor on Apr 4, 2017 12:25:32 GMT
We are going to have SUCH a bad bug year. I am heading to Tractor Supply today to pick up mosquito catchers, will plant them around my pasture and barn in cages to try and keep the mosquitoes away. My poor horses are already coming in early in the afternoon from our pastures to get away from them. Sigh....
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Post by here to stay on Apr 4, 2017 14:29:18 GMT
aoconnor , do you use fly sheets? I have two old Weatherbeetas made of a somewhat stiff netting and that have large bellybands that work very well. Unfortunately the gnats here are so small fly sheets can't keep them out. They work great for flies and mosquitoes though. Not that I have a huge problem with them. None of the later varieties work as well and I dread the point at which these sheets wear out.
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Post by aoconnor on Apr 5, 2017 2:24:08 GMT
aoconnor , do you use fly sheets? I have two old Weatherbeetas made of a somewhat stiff netting and that have large bellybands that work very well. Unfortunately the gnats here are so small fly sheets can't keep them out. They work great for flies and mosquitoes though. Not that I have a huge problem with them. None of the later varieties work as well and I dread the point at which these sheets wear out. I don't use fly sheets. It is pretty hot and humid here, fly sheets would just about kill my horses. Almost all of my herd are out on pasture 24/7, they only come in to eat in the morning, and the 7 I keep in the barn come in at night for dinner and sleep. I have a friend who uses fly sheets all summer, her poor horses roast, it must be so uncomfortable. I have a lot of mine that come in during the early evening, looking for fresh, cold water, and in heavy sweats. I hose them off and try to help as much as I can, but it is not much. We are building our barn, I will probably keep horses in during the hot hours of the day, let them out to graze during the night. At least I can control the bugs and the heat in the barn. |
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Post by here to stay on Apr 5, 2017 4:18:28 GMT
The gnats were irritating Tess this evening so I tried the Vicks I bought this morning. It certainly smelled strong. I see if it lasts til morning and let you all know.
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Post by here to stay on Apr 5, 2017 17:55:08 GMT
I'm afraid it was a big failure. Even though I slathered about half the contents on her around the udder, midline, chest, etc- anything not covered by her rain sheet- she was seriously chewing on her self this morning.
I think it might act as a barrier rather than a repellent. Which is fine on relatively unhairy humans with little skin exposed but will not work on a large, hairy creature. There simply isn't enough Vicks in a jar to rub over her. And that stuff is no longer that cheap.
So back to fly spray three times a day.
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Post by mollymckee on Apr 7, 2017 23:12:48 GMT
It works on the horses here, you must have a different type of gnat. I put it on the ears, neck, above the tail and some streaks on the horses sides and underside. The gnats disappear be fore I leave the barn. Sorry it didn't work for you.
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Post by here to stay on Apr 8, 2017 2:15:50 GMT
My latest is to try Avon Skin So Soft which was recommended in a blog.
Frankly desperation has set in. After that I try citronella, another blog recommendation. After scouting around, I saw that there is a lotion for sweet itch but I could find no info on how to get it. But Britain has a similar climate to ours here so I'm not surprised they have a nasty biting midge too.
I wonder if I can get a local pharmacy to compound an ointment for me.
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Post by bergere on Apr 14, 2017 17:29:49 GMT
Many imported Icelandic horses get Sweet Itch. There are a number of good products out there now that work fairly well.
Giving your horse Aller-Tec (generic Zyrtec) and using a benzyl benzoate lotion can help.
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Post by here to stay on Apr 14, 2017 22:12:03 GMT
bergere, what is the dosage for a 1000 lb horse and have you see side effects? And how do you use the lotion? I see there is some side effects possible with that too. My girl is 26 if that makes a difference. So far the fly spray is work pretty well but even missing on spray results is self damaging chewing. But there are probably side effects continuously using Atroban for months on end too.
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