We call them pests for a good reason-because they are. Just when we're ready to enjoy the summer days, along comes a host of pests to annoy our horses and us. And they can do a whole lot more than just annoy. Many of these critters can share diseases with our horses and us, from itchy sores to deadly encephalitis. Here we'll give you the means to manage insects, including habitat control, use of beneficial insects and animals, and mechanical means.
We can discourage many insects by understanding their needs and habitat. All living things need three things: food, water and cover or shelter. We call this habitat.
Food requirements for insects vary from species to species, but include decaying organic material such as manure or plant material, protein such as blood and nectar or a sugar source. They can get water from a stream, wetlands, pond or human-made area like a stock watering tank, birdbath, an old tire holding water or even that annoying leaky faucet behind the barn. They need cover to hide from predators, for traveling, for nesting and for shelter. Cover could come from trees, shrubs, grass, the eaves of buildings or in between the barn walls.
By understanding the needs of the insects we wish to control, we can look at ways to un-invite them to our horse properties.
Habitat Controls
The first line of defense against all insects is to eliminate their habitat by setting up a good manure and mud management system on your horse property.
Keep Pests Away
- Pick up manure regularly, and cover the manure pile.
- Get rid of muddy areas and standing water.
- Use a worm bin for composting food scraps.
- Use fly parasites, insect-eating birds and bats.
- Try mechanical controls, such as fly masks, fly sticks and pheromone and bait traps.
All organic material eventually decomposes and leads to mud-which will trap and hold moisture, potentially creating mosquito and biting midge habitats. By removing and composting all manure, bedding and old hay from your pastures, smaller paddocks and pens, and high traffic areas at least every one to three days, you will significantly reduce breeding grounds for flies. Some fly species breed exclusively in very fresh manure (less than 10 minutes old). Twice-a-day manure removal would be most effective against these insects.
Covering manure piles and composting manure will further help kill fly larvae and reduce breeding ground. Covering also speeds up the composting process by regulating the moisture content. The cover prevents the pile from getting too wet in the winter and too dry in the summer.
Confining horses in a small enclosure such as a paddock, corral or pen during the winter and early spring can reduce muddy pastures. These confinement areas are often called sacrifice areas because you are giving up the use of that small portion of land as a grassy area to benefit the rest of your pastures. Using footing materials such as hogfuel (chipped or shredded wood products), gravel or sand in sacrifice areas can also help reduce mud. Three to six inches of footing material will help build up the area, keeping horses out of the dirt and allowing rainwater to drain through.
