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Horses and Hacienda in Ecuador’s Northern
Highlands
Horse owners have two options in the continual war against flying insects: Eliminate them before they emerge or manage them as adults. Combining the two strategies offers maximum protection and the greatest reduction in pest populations.Pre-Emergent StrategiesThis route of control involves preventing the insects from breeding or becoming adults by doing one or more of the following:
Removing Breeding Habitat Removing fly and mosquito habitat is simply good management. One of the best ways to help reduce flies is to pick up manure and compost it. A true compost system, among other things, raises the heat in the manure mixture to a level where viable breeding is not possible. Gathering information from your local county extension agent is a great start to establishing a compost method effective for your program. If composting is not practical, other options exist, including: picking up and having manure removed (required in some areas where urban sprawl has enveloped horse facilities), or spreading manure on fields as part of rotational grazing or crop fertilization. Again, speaking to your extension agent is valuable as many counties offer free assistance with improving land use on both small and large acreage.As for mosquito habitat, we’ve all heard time and time again that we need to eliminate standing water as an effective means to remove mosquito breeding grounds. The hardy mosquito has evolved into an efficient breeder and un-hatched eggs can remain dorequine
I know that airborne pests are an integral part of the world’s ecology, but my preference is that their ecology occur elsewhere, at least not at my ranch! Controlling flies and mosquitoes is both time consuming and costly—and these two factors don’t even take into consideration the real potential for disease that the flying pest bring or the painful bites and sores they can create.
Flemingmant in semi-dry areas until adequate moisture reappears to support growth to adulthood.
One commonly overlooked mosquito breeding habitat is the area around the water tank. Many horse owners still practice the senseless act of overflowing the tank to flood the ground near the horse’s water source in the name of improved foot-health. Creating an ongoing mud source does nothing for the horses feet (other than make them muddy) and provides mosquitoes with the perfect place to lay their eggs and grow to adulthood.You can get rid of the small, human-made habitats but in reality, many mosquito breeding grounds cannot be eliminated as ponds, lakes, irrigation ditches and dirt tanks are necessary and common place around livestock. Biological Control MethodsWhen practical habitat removal is optimized, fly and mosquito numbers are usually somewhat reduced. But what additional steps can be taken to continue to minimize the pests and prevent adult insects from negatively impacting your facility? Biological control is the next step in pre-emergent strategies.Biological management is a safe and extremely effective method in the war against flying insects.
For flies, the use of fly parasites has become increasingly popular with companies such as Spalding Laboratories (www.spalding-labs.com) and The Source Biological (www.sourcebiofly.com) offering packaged fly-killers mailed directly to your barn.What these businesses offer is an insect that lays its eggs in the pupa of the pesky fly, feeding on the unhatched insect and killing it before it reaches adulthood. The introduced pest is harmless and bite-less (to humans and animals), but when sprinkled on and near fly habitat it wreaks havoc on the fly’s breeding program. The fly parasites reproduce and breed naturally, but with repeated introduction at key times during the breeding season they are able to make a serious dent in the numbers of flies reaching breeding age. One season of control for 1-5 horses costs the horse owner between $125 and $200. That’s about the same price as 10 bottles of good fly spray. Mosquitoes have different life cycles and breeding habitat from most of their fly friends so a different approach is needed to effectively reduce their numbers. A company called Arbico Organics (www.store.arbico-organics.com) offers a variety of products the horse owner can use directly on mosquito breeding grounds. Again, the method of attack is a natural system. But instead of relying on parasites, Arbico uses a harmless bacteria to kill the mosquitoes in the larval stage before they mature into adult pests.
The company sells mosquito Dunks® or Sprinkles® that are placed in and around recurring wet areas where mosquitoes breed. Bacteria are released as the product dissolves and provide The small yellowish dots on the horse’s leg are eggs from the bot fly. a lethal food source for the larval mosquitoes, thus preventing maturation. According to the company, the bacteria is safe for plants and fish as well as other animals. One large bag of product retails for around $130 and is applied repeatedly throughout the mosquito season.Finally, some owners practice feed-through fly control. This is a biological strategy in the sense that horses are fed a substance that makes their manure not suitable or less-than-inviting as breeding habitat for insects. Other feed-through products evoke topical repellent protection from pests when by-products of the feed are excreted through the horse’s skin. Commercially prepared feed additives are available, while many prefer to use common human-feed ingredients added to daily rations. Beware of products that use organophosphates, as these chemicals have not been deemed safe for pregnant mares or for use in stallions. Environmental safety of the product should be investigated as well to determine the impact on your local ecosystem. Some newer products don’t utilize organophosphates, but rather than list the active ingredient, simply refer to it as a growth inhibitor that affects the pest’s lifecycle.
More information would be helpful in analyzing the risk versus the benefit of these products. I suggest that owners thoughtfully inform themselves and make the choice that best meets the needs of their horses and facility.Management StrategiesFor whatever reason, you have decided to address the problem of flying pest control by attacking the adult fly or mosquito, or maybe you are using a two-fold approach by protecting your horses from the few lone survivors of your current pre-emergent program. Either way, we eventually take our horses somewhere off our property where management of flies and mosquitoes is beyond our control, making adult insect management a necessity. So what’s next in affording our horse’s optimum protection from the disease carrying pests? Repellent and insect trapping methods give owners many additional options including:TrapsFlying insect sticky tapes, zappers and bait traps exist in many forms. I always wonder if the trap bait attracts insects that might not otherwise be present or if they truly reduce the number of pests pestering the horses? I am not a big fan of this method as many are smelly, unsightly, noisy and ultimately difficult to remove when entangled in a mane or tail. Others swear by traps and claim the in-house population is greatly impacted. continued on next page
Aerosol Dispensers Years ago, the only dispenser type system available was a permanently installed behemoth that drew fly repellent from a 55 gallon drum to individual timed sprayersprofessionally installed in horse housing areas. Today, individual spray canisters from companies such as Air Guardian are readily available and easy to use. This system dispenses timed wafts of insecticide wherever the owner chooses to mount the sprayer. This is an easy way to regularly and selectively administer spray in specific areas and not use chemicals in others if you choose. The Air Guardian Company also distributes similar aroma therapy systems in the event you just want a piney smelling stall for your equine friends.Non-topical Repellent D&R Technologies offers “ultra-sonic” sound repellent for insects and rodents. The technological basis for the repellent is that sound waves, at a frequency annoying to the targeted pests but not audible to humans or companion animals, keeps them away from the protected areas. One plug-in unit covers about 6,000 square feet and retails for around $50. D&R provides testimonials to the efficacy of their easy-to-use system called the E-Force®, however, I have not personally had the opportunity to test the product, nor have any of my students, so I cannot comment personally on its ability to repel insects. Commercial Fly Sprays Anyone who has owned a horse through more than one fly season is an expert on spray-on repellents. It’s the old buy-and-try method to find one that works! I visited
Dickinson’s Implement in Tucumcari, NM where I purchased and tested the currentproduct line from Farnam® and found that effectiveness, for the most part, seems to parallel cost. That is, the more expensive the spray, the better it worked. The challenge for the consumer seems to be balancing cost and effectiveness with safety, as many of the chemicals commonly used in repellents carry warnings for exposure to humans. If it’s potentially harmful to me, I’d prefer not to use it on my horse. The products are intended to adhere to the animal’s hair shaft, not the skin, but perfect application is a challenge at best. In reality, applying fly spray to a horse without spraying his skin or your body is absolutely impossible.There are also several “natural” fly spray products available such as Absorbine’s Super Shield Green® and Eqyss Summer Defense Marigold Spray®. These sprays use natural ingredients such as marigold, tea tree oil and lavender to fend off biting insects. They are as costly as the higher priced chemicals at about $1 an ounce, typically not as widely available (although easily purchased on-line), but are effective in protecting against biting flies and mosquitoes without the chemicals. In my experience, they do need to be reapplied more often than their chemical counterparts, but they smell great and ease some of the worries that accompany using topical repellents.Natural and Homemade Alternatives If you spend time researching natural alternatives you’ll discover that some simple formulas are available for creating your own repellent. Citrus peels, vanilla, essential oils, spices and other ingredients have been used for years by many as a safe and natural alternative to commercially prepared mixtures. The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that oil of eucalyptus is particularly effective as compared to others in repelling insects. Many of the recipes call for apple cider vinegar to be mixed with other active ingredients to create a concoction that, due to its odor, repels humans as well as pests! Be aware that additives such as vinegar (an acid) do eventually affect the horse’s coat quality. If you take the create-your-own route, be careful to test the product on a small area first to make sure the horse does not negatively react to the ingredients. As with commercially prepared products, some animals show sensitivity to certain ingredients and the resulting hives, hair-loss or breathing problems can be serious. Many horse owners have used Avon Skin-So-Soft® as an effective repellent. It should be diluted and applied cautiously as it can be quite caustic if used full strength, resulting in a loss of hair and peeling/flaking skin.It’s still early spring and there’s plenty of time to plan and strategize for controlling flies and mosquitoes! If you find something that works exceptionally well, please send us an E-mail about the product or technique so we can let our readers know.
Christina Fleming lives in Tucumcari, NM, and gives lessons and offers clinics on a variety of subjects. She has a BS in Biology and is a certified instructor, judge and guide. Visit her at www.nmhorsetraineer.com or send her an E-mail at nmvaquera@plateautel.
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