killing no-see-ums (tiny gnats)

[t. nason]

How on earth do you kill these things. I don't have any standing water around. Must drive horses nuts at night evenn with fly mask. Sure bother me when i'm out just seeing them.

[MunchkinsMom]

The person that figures that one out is going to be an overnight millionaire!

I suppose you could get a bug fogger and fog your property frequently, not sure if it would work or not.

[avezan]

Yes, if anyone figures this one out, please let me know. My horses are tormented and rubbing their manes and tails out. They get fly sprayed, swatted, and have a run in with fans 24 hours. But the times that they are out grazing, they are tormented. I tried MTG and my horse just rubbed herself raw anyway. How about Eqyss products?

[jengersnap]

Tie dryer sheets to their halters and manes.

[avezan]

Tie dryer sheets to their halters and manes.

No kidding? What do you do for tails? Or does one sheet cover the whole horse? Thanks!

[pintopiaffe]

Fans.

Though I think what I'm calling no-see-ums are midges, and smaller than the gnats that we call black flies. Midges are tiny, like a speck of pepper, and HURT like the dickens. The ONLY way to survive them is fans... or, since with the horses they go for the belly line and chest, a nice thick coating of something greasy like bag balm, or even vaseline. You end up with nasty, black, greasy, gooky bellies, but no sweet itch.

Deworming with Ivermectin helps with Black Flies/gnats. I try to judge and do it just a couple of days before the season starts... then again every 3-4 weeks as needed. It goes entirely against my minimal deworming program (I usually do fecals) but since I discovered three years ago now it helps quite a bit on ears etc., I just DO it. Usually 3 doses from May - mid-July when the black flies die down and then it's the deerfly/horsefly/mosquito battle. Oral Ivermec also has a high safety margin. I just hope I'm not creating parasite resistance... but... it's FAR cheaper than treating an ulcerated cornea or infected ear... :uhoh:

[fooler]

Avoidance seems to be the only sane option.
They drove my gelding almost to madness. He rubbed his mane and tail so badly I thought it never would grow back, bit his chest, between front legs and belly trying to stop the gnats (no see um's).

Finally learned to:
Keep him out during the day - between 8:30A - 4:30P
Was putting out at night which was prime feeding time for the insects
He is in a stall with fan from 4:30 P until 8:30 A
He wears a Rambo fly sheet + neck cover + full face mask
I put a vaseline mixture along his mid-line when the bugs are bad
He reacts to fly sprays, so have to use the fly sheets

His mane & tail have grown out. He is a much happier horse on this routine. Also my mare has her own fly sheet and mask.

Keeping the pastures picked helps. . . some. But the stinkers are part of the environment. We mentor kids at the local military school & some have gone to The Citidel in Charleston, SC. They speak of standing in formation, being very still, while the stinkers bite them and crawl around their eyes, ears, mouth & nose. Ugh!

[Foxtrot's]

Yup - darned things are out again here. Every year, the tails start getting rubbed. I try DEET (Deep Woods Off, but I'm not too hopeful). I think they would hide near a fan if I put one out there.