Fly Preditors?

[gottalovethecowgirl]

Alright i have been watching alot of our horse channel we get and they were advertising this little bug that supposidly kills flies called fly preditors. My question is do they actually work? are they worth using? (sometimes things can be more work than they are worth having.) :confused:

[trubandloki]

There are lots of threads on this, do a search and get more answers.

I have found they work wonderfully. They are easy to use. The biggest hassle (if it is one) is being careful where the horses are when you apply fly spray to them if/when you have to put it on.
Putting the predators out is very easy (just follow the directions provided with them). They do the rest.

They to not totally eliminate ALL flies. But they sure do cut down on the population.

[horsetales]

Like the other poster stated, if you do a search there are several threads on this topic. It seems like mixed results. We use them with 9 horses and have seen a significant improvement. If you have birds (chicken, guineas etc.) they do eat the predators, so benefits may be fewer.

[Bluey]

Those worked very well for us the last three years, so we are getting more again this year.
Hopefully they will work as well again.:cool:

[JSwan]

I did not have much success with them. I don't know why.

[deltawave]

No luck with them here.

[Tornado Run Farm]

My sister lives in Virginia and loves them! I live in the Ohio River Valley and had no luck with them, either.

[poltroon]

I didn't think they were doing that much for me until I went to visit a neighbor's farm.

[GallopHer]

The fly predators are not effective if you have a thriving fire ant population. An NCSU entomologist told me that fly predators are like Easter Eggs to fire ants.

[vineyridge]

The fly predators are not effective if you have a thriving fire ant population. An NCSU entomologist told me that fly predators are like Easter Eggs to fire ants.

Oh, dear, that's bad news.

Now I need to start a thread on fire ant control.

[theoldgreymare]

We are going to give them a try this year. If they work, it will mean less chemicals on the horses (as we will have to turn the barn sprayers off) and less cost.

I am not sure about where to realease them though....the manure pile is a given but do people let them loose in the barn, fields, where exactly???

[Fancy That]

We are going to give them a try this year. If they work, it will mean less chemicals on the horses (as we will have to turn the barn sprayers off) and less cost.

I am not sure about where to realease them though....the manure pile is a given but do people let them loose in the barn, fields, where exactly???

I want to know, too! We just bought our very own horse property and I'd like to try these....

Where besides "near manure" do you spread them?

[cssutton]

Oldgreymare:

We have used them for years and will use them forever.

Put some on the manure pile. Put some in the stalls.

If you have any kind of compost pile around the house, be certain you put some there.

If you have a dog kennel, put some in that area.

If you live in the country and you throw anything at all in the gulley, put some there.

If y ou have a really close neighbor who has livestock, you have more of a problem unless you get him in on it.

They get house flies. They do not get the various biting flies: horn flies, deer flies, etc.

We have 20 foxhounds and now only two horses, but in the summer we eat lunch on the back terrace and flies are not even a consideration.

Now what makes this interesting is that I do not keep a neat barn anymore. I used to, but now I leave the horses out 24/7 bringing them in only to catch them to ride, shoe or whatever, so the stalls are not clean. I consider the barn to be a run in shed.

So were it not for the preditors, we would have flies like an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Flies will breed in old grass clippings if you bag it and dump it, things like that. You just need to think about it and put a hand full in those spots.

And do not spray. If you spray horses to ride, move them away from where you put the preditors. Spray them outside the barn or whatever.

CSSJR

[theoldgreymare]

Thank you CSSutton...that is exactly the info I needed!

We also spray our perimeter for ticks. I wonder if this will harm the predators?

[ttldr1]

I have used them for several years, both in MI and now in SC, and love them. They will not get rid of every single fly but they certainly make a huge dent in the numbers.

[Draftlover]

I used them last year, we are in North NC close to Virginia boarder. I wasn't sure but according to my boarders they did good, so this year I will use them again. Apparently the longer you use them the better the result, so, at this point I have nothing to lose...

[poltroon]

I put them any place that maintains moisture, so along fence lines, along the stall wall, near the water tank, etc, in addition to where manure is.

I try not to put them in places where they will be disturbed, like in the middle of stalls, or in places where I might apply fly spray.

[LEN]

Everyone has their own ideas of Fly Control. The predators work for some people. They say, they don't have any flies. Then Some will be honest and say they don't have as many. OK, But the Fly problem is still there. Because the Fly Predators only can control ONE kind of Fly. Useing the fly predators is not helping your horse. They are helping you or the users of predators with peace of mind, because you don't see as many flies. Your horse needs Fly Control for his or her protection from the bitting and Blood sucking Flies. These Flies spread infectious diseases from one horse to another. These Flies, some big and some so small you can't see them, are the objective of Fly Control. Predators are not the answer for the bitting and Blood sucking Flies. Now I'm going to get flack on this but, We have horses too. We are concerned about the infectious diseases that could infect Sandys Nursemare herd, because they have to be clean when they go to someones farm to raise an orphan foal. We don't use the predators because we have the Automatic Fly Control Systems in the barns. I have been in the business for almost 30 yrs so I have a little experence wth Fly Control. I am not advertiseing here, only trying to tell you my experences. I have been installing Fly control Systems in many places because the predators just didn't do the job. To accomplish fly control you need to get rid of the flies and there is no better way of doing that other than the fly comntrol system. Now some will say they don't use the systems because they think the fly spray is poison. Yet they use feed through wormers, feed through fly control and sprays befor riding. Most fly control systems use a pyrethrum water based fly spray. Harmless to humans and warmblooded animals. The systems are used in Vet clinics,hospitals,food handling places,bakeries, smoke houses, etc. In fact the Fly spray we use in the systems I sell and service, says in the brochure, when mixed according to directions its classified as a FOOD ADDATIVE. Its EPA and USDA approved and registered. In thirty almost yrs, I have never had or heard of anyone or their horses getting sick or have complacations because of the Natural pyrethrum Fly spray. Barns with these systems installed in them have little or no flies. Real fly comtrol, Real Horse protection of all the different kinds of Flies that can spread the infectious diseases to your horses. Now there are some fly sprays on the market that will tell you they are compaible with the automatic Insect contol systems. Some are and some arn't. You would have to call the company you bought it from. The Natural Pyrethrin Fly spray is the best. The Organic is good too but you have to use more of it. So think about your horses when you are useing the predators and think about the protection their getting from infectious diseases. When your at a horse show look for a booth that has Fly control systems. Get the information, its free.