Nothing ruins a trip to the barn or a trail ride faster than being inundated by flies or other pests. But there are ways you can minimize them and their impact on your riding time. Try one or several of the following suggestions. An integrated pest control system is the best way to say “bye-bye” to flies.

To keep flies out of your barn, routine pickup and disposal of manure is key since this is where flies breed. You can also try a feed-through fly control product to prevent fly egg development. Using fly stall sprays or a total fly suppression system can also help flies as well as other bugs.

There are also some relatively simple solutions that will also work for bug control. Using fans in your horse’s stall or in the barn helps keep air circulating, making it harder for flies to land on your horse. Classic Equine Equipment offers high deluxe basket fans and indoor/outdoor ceiling fans. Or let Mother Nature help you out. Birds are a great asset in fly control by feeding on bugs. “Predators”, tiny non-stinging wasps, both lay eggs in the fly pupa as well as feed on fly larvae while it is in the manure around your farm. By eating the larvae fly predators break the fly life cycle.

So arm yourself with fly prevention products for both your horse and your barn and you can win the war on flies.