# Northern Horses, Flies and Bees; is there hope?



## MichaBees (Sep 26, 2010)

I recently have suffered from a horse invasion; the farmer just across from me, started to provide services for northern horses that winter here where the weather is supposed to be better. I used to love seeing the beautiful horses, but never took in to consideration that what comes in to the mouth of horses, must come out somewhere/somehow and this somewhere/somehow, is usually loved by those things called flies. 
Now, these terrible creatures called flies, love to be around my bees, but I am not the kind of guy that likes to share the love of my girls with anyone else. 
I need to gear up for war, but I do not know what kind of weapons I will need that may not have collateral damage against my beloved. 
Advice is needed and welcome.


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## clintonbemrose (Oct 23, 2001)

Anything that will kill flies will kill bees also.
In the old days they had a bottle trap for yellow jackets that had water, wet catfood that was stinky that drew in flies and yellow jackets that all eat meat. They could not exit the bottle and would fall into the water and dround. I have seen them in stores and they were called yellow jacket traps.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

Um, well ... from what I know, most species of flies found around horses are attracted to sweat/salt or manure, not sweet things. So are these flies actually bothering your bees directly? Or is it that you simply have more flies than usual around your hives because the horses are nearby? 

In any case, here are some ideas:

Fly predators will help control flies that breed in manure. I can recommend this company: http://www.arbico-organics.com/ Don't expect instant control with predators. It may take several months before you see a significant change in the fly population.

Ask your neighbor to do something with the manure, especially if it stays wet for a long time. Damp manure is a magnet for flies to lay eggs in, so it helps to spread the manure around so it dries quickly. I wouldn't think it would be a big problem to dry manure in New Mexico, as long as it's spread around, not left in big wet piles.

Move your hives further away from the horses. Distance will definitely reduce the problem if "your" flies are the same species of flies I see around my horses here in the Midwest.

--DeeAnna


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

My aunt lived in the country and had lots of flies get into her house. It was maddening. She put those curly stickly tapes up inside the house and they were always full of flies. Not sure if this would attract bees. I think key to this is getting the neighbor to do something also. Surely he must be bothered by them also?

I do remember setting up some cool whip bowls with soda in with a drop of dish soap for the yellow jackets in August/September. There were always a few flies in there, too. No bees.

Maybe try a plastic soda bottle trap with a bit of hamburger in there where they can get in, but not get out. 

Don't flies taste thru their feet??


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

Oh, another thing. Maybe gardeners can be enticed to take the free bounty doing you both a favor at the same time. Free for the taking!


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

Oh, I forgot ... there are also no-pesticide fly traps for carrion/manure/meat eating wasps and flies. They work pretty well, although the results are not for the squeamish to dispose of. 

I use this product ... http://tinyurl.com/3cvhfb9 ... but this alternative would also work fine ... http://tinyurl.com/3fdss92 

Be sure to hang these traps in a warm, sunny location, not in shade. Also, these traps can emit a distinct carrion odor at times. Put the traps as close to the fly problem areas as you can, but not right where people are normally likely to be (your deck, front door, etc.).

--DeeAnna


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## rmaro (Feb 22, 2011)

Well you could just help him out with the flies
If you go to Arbico Organics Facebook page you can get a code for free shipment of fly eliminators.
ARBICO Organics Fly Eliminators Free Trial Offer <---- Name of The facebook page.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Nothing will get rid of them all. I have horses in the same pasture as my hives (with the hives fenced). I bought some of the parasitic wasps. Don't remember where now, but they seem to still be around. However they don't put that big of a dent in the fly population. I'm sure they do kill some.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

Parasitic wasps "...don't put that big of a dent in the fly population..."

I agree there will always be flies if there are horses around, but the wasps really do reduce the numbers. This is especially true if you stick with the program over several years. A balance has to evolve between your predators and the flies, and that takes some time.

The wasps are found naturally in our climate, but they aren't typically around in high enough numbers to make a serious dent in the flies when the fly population explodes. So the artificial releases help with that.

After several years of using fly predators, I still use some fly spray on my horses, but not nearly as much as I used to. Some years I can get by with just fly masks to control the face flies, especially on our darker horses (face flies seem to be more attracted to them). That is fine with me -- fewer chemicals on my horses, less work for me.

--DeeAnna


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## Apiator (Apr 8, 2011)

1) Chickens will scratch up manure and eat fly larvae.
2) Dung beetles fairly quickly eliminate manure from the soil surface, reducing places for flies to lay eggs, and
3) bats. They eat their own body weight in bugs every night, and don't wake up til after your bees are safely tucked away for the night. Bonus: they loooove mosquitoes.

The chickens you'd have to talk with your neighbor about. Offer eggs or something. Bats you could house on your own land, and dung beetles -- you could surreptitiously throw a few hundred over the fence at night.


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## Axtmann (Dec 29, 2002)

When I was a child, my grandfather had a farm and flies everywhere. We could go to the outhouse only at noon. During this time we had all the flies in the kitchen.


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

I have a bunch of hives, 72, in a pasture with horses, cows, goats and chickens, and penned hogs. Flies don't seem to bother the bees, although it's impossible to have a cookout anywhere near.


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## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

Some years the fly population explosion on my place was something Alfred Hitchcock would run from.

I doubt this so called "farmer" will see things like you do or he would have acted already. You may get him to try this product from Hubbard Feeds.
http://www.hubbardfeeds.com/beef/ProdInfo/easylixrabon.aspx?menu=Cow/Calf&item=Pressed Blocks

Good luck!


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