Conference noted::equitation

In the past I have used Equicare, and loved it.  However at almost $17 per quart
I decided to try Tech Trol.  I ordered this from Omaha Vaccine - it was $10 for
28 oz. and appears to work efficiently for several days per application.  

I had previously used Repel a few years back, but I swear the bugs developed 
an immunity to it.

Kathy

   	
    The folks who manufacture the Flysect products (Equicare) also swear
    that bugs develop immunity.  They are suggesting rotating products
    every couple weeks.  
    
    I like the Equicare products, B Free of flies, Repel-x and Tech-trol.
    My horses didn't have any problems, but I had an asthma attack when
    I used Tech-trol. Since the oil based products attract dust, I save
    long-lasting products for showing.
    
   
    

               Try Avon Skin-So-Soft. Just mix with water and spray
    it on. It's not that expensive and it works fine. The good part
    is that it doesn't smell like an insecticide. 
    
                Bob

    I laugh everytime I read an add that claims their product will
    last 5 to 7 days.  Either I have tougher bugs than they do or
    they have tougher horses.  I have rotated Wipe and Repel-X for
    the last couple of years and been very satisfied.  But they do
    require application at least every other day to be effective.
    In the worst part of bug season "deerflies" I use the same 
    products but reduct the amount of water I add to the
    concentrate or use the mixture which requires no water at all.
    
    One warning about bug products.  They have on the market a product
    which resembles a halter.  It fits over the horses head and has
    pieces of material that hang over their face.  I have heard horror
    stories about this product spooking horses and causing accidents
    as well as horses who have caught a branch or hoof in them with
    the same results.  I have yet to hear of anyone who believes this
    is a product as good or better than flywipes.
                                                   
    There is a product on the market which is sold at State Line.  It
    is a chemical you mix with water and it comes with a large bottle
    you hang from a tree.  Sorry I can't remember the name.  It attracts
    flies and other such pesky varmits, lures them into the bottle and
    traps them.  The smell of the chemical is pretty bad but I have
    never seen anything work as well.  We plan to purchase two or three
    more this year.
    
    Preventative Maintenance: I have found that since we pick up the
    manure daily from our turnout pasture the bug level has been greatly
    reduced.  It's a lot of work but well worth it. 
    
    Karen   "Ride fast bug season is on the way"

    
    Here's a second vote for Avon's Skin-So-Soft mixed with water. You
    can use it on yourself and the dogs too. However, I think it is
    most effective against black flies (the ones out now). I feel better
    putting a less harsh insect repellant on my horse. 
    
    I have heard that Repel-X is off the market due to carcinogenic
    properties. Has anyone else heard this??

    Regarding the "fly bonnets" you can get from Farnam.  (They have
    three long yellow strips of repellent material hanging from yellow
    elastic which fits around the forehead, poll and throat latch of
    the horse):
    
    I have had VERY good luck with pastured horses wearing these
    contraptions.  I have seen cases where horses without them were
    horribly pestered with face flies, while the protected horses in the
    same pasture had few or no face flies.  
    
    When I lived in Iowa we even rode with them (put the bridles right
    on over top).  We had a terrible time with face flies without them.
    (I used to go through GALLONS of fly repellent during the summer.)
    
    Thank goodness for living in Colorado.  There were so few flies
    last year that I used only 1 quart of Wipe among three horses for
    the whole season! 
    

RE: .4  "Preventative Maintenance"
    
We have about 10 bantam hens that we let run around on the place.
When they are not being chased by dogs, the hens love to eat the
little insects out of the manure. This seems to keep the fly population
down. And, it is certainly less difficult than shoveling all of the time!

/ed

    Re: .3
    
    I also use SKIN-SO-SOFT on my Horses - Dogs - Cow and Cat.
    I have found it is cheeper, improves coats, does not smell, repels
    flies, fleas and ticks. I also drip a few drops in the stalls and
    dog pen. This also helps to control these pesty bugs. 
    
    Best_of_luck_to_all
    
    

	How much should the Skin-So-Soft be diluted?
    
    

    If you are using Skin So Soft on your horse, be careful because
    if you don't dilute it enough it can really do a job on their
    skin!!

    Plain Oil of Citronella from the chemists works as well as any of
    the proprietary brands I've used.  It does smell though!
    
    Helen.

    Here's a suggestion for getting rid of flies around a horse's eye.
    Use vaseline around the eye and you won't see flies congregating.
    It seems to work great. 
    Did anyone ever hear of using it?   

    Be careful about using Vaseline, especially in the ears to
    get rid of the bugs.  When its really hot outside, it
    will melt and drip down into their ears.  It may have the 
    same effect around the eyes.
    

    RE: .12
    
    Several vets I know said it works good and should be part of a horse
    first aid kit.

    Try using Farnham's Tri-Tech (sp?).  I use it and only have to apply
    about every 5-7 days.  The cost is approximately $12-13 (here in
    Texas at least) and  has worked better for me than Wipe or Repel-X.
    
    Terry    

    re: 8

	You mentioned that SSS doesn't smell!  Which one was it?  The bath oil,
	hand lotion, or the powder??  I tried some that another boarder at the
	barn brought and it is very perfumy!!  I would be concerned that it 
	would attract bees (which I'm allergic to).

					-Caroline

	Regarding the Farnum "over the ears" bug repellent halter-
	type thing. This may not be the one the "warning" was given
	on; I hope not, anyhow. I've been using them on both of my
	horses; they're elasticised and held together with velcro.
	They are very safe, and will break easily. Two of the large
	horse farms in Pepperell are using them, according to the
	guy at Blue Seal, and are really happy with them.

	And...add another vote for SSS; I use it on horses and myself!
	It has a really nice fragrance. I don't notice it attracting
	bees - I'm not allergic to them, but I really *HATE* them! So
	if they were following me around I'd certainly know it! (Boy,
	is Avon going to be doing a good business!)

	-j

     FOR .15
    
    I ALSO USE TRI-TECH. I LOVE IT! I USED TO USE REPEL-X BUT THIS STUFF
    IS 10 TIMES BETTER. I ALSO BOUGHT AVON SKIN SO SOFT BUT I DON'T
    KNOW HOW MUCH TO WATER IT DOWN.
    
    ROBIN

    I use SSS and in a regular old windex bottle I add 2 capfuls of
    SSS and shake the bottle while I spray. I use the remaining portion
    on a clean cloth for the face and under the tall. I have not noticed
    any bees around the horses so in my opinion it does "not" attact bees
    and I have plenty around my place. I use it once a week. I dislike
    bees also and I have found that in a regular nesting place a poured
    on some SSS just last week and I haven't seen a bee in that area
    sence.
    
    Best if luck to anyone using this product..It hasn't failed me in
    3 years.
    

    
    This past summer a friend of mine went to Phoenix Arizona to her
    step-daughters wedding.  While she was out there, she went to visit
    a large horse farm, ( I do not know which one ) and they gave her
    a recipe for the fly spray that they use on there horses out there.
    
    The girl that gave me this recipe says it seems to work pretty well.
    Her horse is out in a pasture and she says that the other horses
    are running around trying to avoid the flys, but her horse is quietly
    eating hay and grass.  I haven't tried it myself, so I do not know
    for sure how well it works, but here is the recipe.
    
                     PHOENIX PHLY SPRAY
    
       1 cup Avon SSS (regular scent)
       2 cups white vinegar
       3 cups water
       1 Tbsp of Oil of Citronella, or Oil of Eucalyptus
    
       makes approx. 1 qt.
    
    If anyone tries this, pleas let me know how it works for you.  I
    am going to try to make it this weekend and see how it works.
    
    Sarah

    I also use SSS.  I mix 1 1/2 cups of SSS in a 1 qt. spray bottle with
    water.  I have used this for three years with much success.  After
    black fly season you can use less SSS and more water.  But I have
    found that the mixture should be strong for those buggers!!  Since
    the SSS has such a perfumy odor, I do use Flysect Super 7 by Equicare
    for showing.  It works well but costs around $15 a quart. 
    
    For those of you who would like to purchase SSS here is the name of
    and Avon representative:
    
    Martha Heino
    Westminster, MA
    Telephone 617-874-2226
    

    Apple Cidar Vinegar mixed with water (1 teaspoon to 1 cup water)
    makes a good spray against mosquitoes.  I spray it on, and I put
    a teaspoon in his feed too.  Vinegar is a great after wash, really
    puts a shine on the coat.
    
    stephanie
    

    I was tempted to add vinegar to my mare's feed when another boarder
    mentioned she was doing this to ward off flies on her horse.  However,
    when I checked with a fellow horse owner I was informed that this
    could cause permanent membrane damage to the horse if given over
    a long period of time.  Her veterinarian told her this when she
    was also considering adding vinegar to the feed.  Something like
    what some nasal sprays do to human membranes.
    
    I'm using Repel-X and according to rep. at Blue Seal, this is the
    most asked for repellent for horses he stocks.  Seems to be working
    for my girl anyway.  I like those fly wipe towels too for the face
    & ears.  If you're going to turn your horse out and not ride, don't put
    the repellent on and then turn him/her out to roll in the dust; let
    'em roll first, groom and then apply the oil based repellent.   :-)
    
    Pat
    Owned_by_a_black/white_Pinto_who_loves_to_roll_when_turned_out!
    

    I've used Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil for an insect repellent for
    about 8 years and it seems to work as good as any of the commercial
    poisons. I sure does smell, my stud doesn't like it either but the
    rest of the horses put up with it ok. I have been told that you
    can mix it 16:1 and it is still effective but doesn't smell, I havn't
    tried this.
    
    Vasaline has been used for many years at the horse shows to keep
    bugs away from the eyes. Bugs don't like to land in anything they
    get stuck in and they seem to know vasaline will get them stuck.
    It also hilights the eyes kinda like mascara. This may or may not
    be desireable.
    
    I have purchased the Non-Stinging hornets or Fly parasites as they
    are known (I can't remember the latin name for them) and they work
    GREAT at controlling flys. Never found anything better, you can
    find ads in the horse magazines like Equus. You get a number of
    shipments of them, the eggs come in a small box and the contents
    look like vermiculite. Just spread them on the manure pile. they
    hatch have a life cycle similar to a fly, they are about the size
    of a head of a common pin at maturity and lay their eggs in the
    fly eggs thus killing the flys. They don't affect anything else
    and are the most effective fly control I have found.
    
    Natural enemys of mosquitos are a small minnow ( I can't remember
    the name of) Dragon flys and Purple Martins. I have Dragon flys
    around my farm and I have been told that you can order the eggs
    and they can be used for mosquito control although I have never
    run across an ad for these. Purple martins you are supposed to be
    able to attract with a special bird house, I guess they are finicky
    but are supposed to eat many times their weight in mosquitos.
    The small minnows are used in NH and Mass in the salt marshes for
    mosquito control, they dig tidal canals and stock these little fishes
    here and I am told they are very effective. Thare is a trap used
    by mosquito control officers in the costal areas t check for the
    types in the area. It consists of some dry ice (CO2 attracts mosquitos)
    and a fan and fine mesh screen. The bugs go for the CO2 and the
    fan blows them against the screen, mosquitos can't fly more than
    about 9 Knots so the fan holds them there.
    
    The trap that stinks is called the Big Stinky and works good on
    flys. It is a large glass jug with a chimney with a top made of
    a black plastic. A piece of food is put in and goes bad and stinks
    thus attracting flys. The food is placed in the jug with a solution
    of water and Borax for about an inch, the food just showing above
    the surface of solution. The flys go in but not out because they
    don't fly into a black hole which is what they see when attempting
    to exit. When they get tired they land, the instant they touch the
    borax they die. The dead and decaying flys attract more flys, all
    you have to do is add more borax solution every few days or as it
    dries out. It works fine but does stink.
    
    JP
     

re : .24 

>    Natural enemys of mosquitos are a small minnow ( I can't remember
>    the name of) Dragon flys and Purple Martins...

Another natural mosquitoe enemy is the brown bat. Bats are much more
effective than martins or dragon flies because they fly at night, when
mosquitos are most active. If you've got a barn, chances are that you've
already got bats. You can encourage them to stay by putting up funny
looking bat houses. Bats have one drawback, they can get rabies. But,
if you keep your animals properly innoculated they will not pose an
undue risk to you or your livestock.

    I've heard that propaganda about bats before.  I think it was started
    by Bat Breeders Anonymous.  (You know them...they're the people
    you only see around Halloween.)
    
    Anyway, seriously, about bats.  We have bats in Harvard.  We have
    some of the fattest, happiest bats in the Northern Hemisphere. 
    We also have a mosquito population that, if we could export it to
    a Third World country, could provide a high protein, low cholesteral
    diet for thousands of people.  Why, just last night I caught one
    of the little wretches trying to fly away with my weanling filly!
    
    Do you know the reason so many people have those electric bug zappers?
    Well, partly because they do zap the bugs.  But the primary reason
    is the very satisfying noise they make.  Every time I hear it I
    think, "Gottcha!  There's another one that won't buzz around my
    bedroom at night!"  
    
    
    Gwen
    

    Now that spring is here and summer just around the corner, I ordered
    some Skin-So-Soft from Avon to try as bug spray this year. I didn't
    find anything really good at the tack shops, although I tried a
    lot of different brands, and had heard that this stuff is pretty
    good, so I decided to give it a shot. My question is for anyone
    who uses it...I know you dilute it with water, but does anyone know
    the best ratio to use?? Thanks!
    
    Linda
                           

    I have used it 3 ways.
    
    1. Full strength.  Right out of the bottle.  Usually only need this 
       when flies, skeeters, etc are at their absolute worst.
    
    2. 50:50 with water.
    
    3. 50:50 with Apple Cider Vinegar.  This is quite effective and the
       "fruity" scent is a bit less.  ;-)

A friend of mine who is a chemist (don't know if that accounts for anything ;^))
thinks that anyone who uses Avon SSS on animals should dilute it *at least* 8:1
(that's 8 parts water to 1 part SSS) as SSS is very irritating and can burn
easily. I guess that's why it works...

I actually saw a mosquito the other day here in northeastern MA; :^(

   Moderator's Note:
   Please read warnings in notes 1267.13 and 1267.14 before applying
   Skin-So-Soft.

    
    Bug Spray Recommendations:
    
    Repel-x seems to work just fine for black flies.  In an unofficial
    bug spray test, (I was watching my neighbors horse for her this
    weekend) I found that my Repel-x beat her skin-so-soft easily. I didn't
    think of it as a test at the time but her gelding was getting bothered
    pretty bad by the end of the day and my mare had no bug problem.
    
    Later in the week I stopped to visit and I noticed her gelding was
    really showing some bad areas where they were chewing him up.  
    
    I also sometimes use some Farham roll-on, on her ears and head.  Without
    it the repel-x works anyway (but the spray is harder to apply to the
    head).  The repel-x seems to be cheaper than most sprays but you have
    to mix it yourself, 1 to 7, or 1 to 4. It doesn't seem to make the
    horse that oily either.
    
    Has anyone found what works for the mosquitos? 
    Thank goodness they're not out yet, at least not at my location.
    
    Re...By the way, be careful about using sprays meant for one animal on
    another.  Some animals, like people and horses and cats, sweat, while
    others, like dogs and (i think) cows do not.  What's fine for one may
    be poisonous to another, don't assume if it's safe for people that
    it's ok for the horses.
    
    Sharon                                      
    

    a little late but I get there.....
    
    
    We have used an oil based spray use on cattle.  It can't be used on
    animals intended for food.  I assume it was developed for people who
    show in 4-h or FFA.  We used it in the barn once a week.  Just sprayed
    everywhere.  Then used on the animals ever few days./
    
    We have also used those face strips.  If the elasic breaks or the
    velcro get too messed up they work great in the tails.  We used to
    braid them in.

    Has anyone used a product along the lines of Black Flag that will
    kill wasps but which is non-toxic to domestic animals (Black Flag is).
    I have discovered a *huge* wasps nest in my barn rafters, and Im not 
    happy about it. :-)
    

    Does anyone have recommended formulas for home made fly repellant??  I
    imagine the flys are bad over the pond as well, what would you
    recommend??
    
    One ingredient I find great here is Citronella although after mixing it
    with Savlon or Detol to water it down, it has literally stripped the
    skin of my friend's horse!!  Has anyone used it with water?  And what
    about garlic?  Have you ever used it externally to keep the flies away
    as opposed to in the feed?
    
    Looking forward to hearing the wierd and wonderful concoctions used!
    
    Liz

Do you really mean that it has "literally stripped the skin", as in, removed
it?  Or did you mean (I hope!) that it has striped the skin?

Both seem possible, though I wouldn't describe an ingredient that stripped a
horse's skin as "great". :-)

	-Neil