Remove other breeding areas like wet straw and mulch and all rotting organic matter. How to Control: As with the majority of flies the first step is sanitation. Individual flies may feed more than Equine formulation for safe, effective, feed-through fly control for stable flies and house flies Can be used with all classes of horses Fortified with NRC recommended levels of minerals and vitamins Convenient, 60-lb tubs can be easily placed where needed. Stable flies also have long, bayonet-like mouthparts for sucking blood. Stable fly control The key to stable fly control is managing its larval habitats, ideally by their removal or drying out so they are less attractive. The adults have a piercing/sucking proboscis that is used to extract a bloodmeal and seven circular black spots on a gray abdomen. STABLE FLY AEROSOL SPRAY ^ As a space spray, apply PT-565 daily as is needed. Know your enemy, the first rule of tactical warfare, also applies to the battle against the buzzing infiltrators in your barn. Filth flies include some of our most common fly pests — house flies, fruit flies, green bottle flies, stable flies, and several others. Parasitic wasps, referred to as parasitoids, are particularly effective against horn flies and house flies but have shown poor results with stable flies thus far. Stable flies usually bite at the ankle level and draw blood quickly from their victims and feed to full capacity in three to four minutes if left undisturbed. The bunching behavior exhibited by dairy cattle will lead to increased body temperatures lower milk production. Stable flies are not known to transmit disease in humans, but are annoying enough to drive people away from beaches when they are numerous. The eggs hatch after 1 to 3 days into yellowish-white maggots/larvae. Facilities housing animals should be designed for easy removal of manure and cleaning of stalls frequently. Sprays are usually the best option for stable fly control, and require weekly applications to manage populations. may feel like a needle stab and typically occur around the ankles and lower parts of the legs. Stable flies overwinter in breeding sites and emerge the following spring as adults. Stable flies become a major problem in early spring. Pyrethrins are non-residual and only last for a short time. Stable flies are painful biting filth flies that resemble the house fly in appearance but just a tad bit smaller in size (5-7 mm long). Not an important vector of animal pathogens. Areas along fence rows, under feed bunks, or wherever manure and straw or decaying matter can accumulate should be kept clean, because these substrates provide the medium in which the larval flies develop. A trap referred to as the Olson biting fly trap has a unique design that consists of a special fiberglass panel wrapped in a cylinder and attached to a stake 3-4 feet high. Waste should be disposed of properly by either burial, spreading in a thin layer (less than 3 cm) on open fields, submersion in water, or aerobic composting. Fly Traps and Tapes To catch adult flies outside of your barn, consider using fly traps that lure flies into them. Losses in feedlots will likely occur when the average number of stable flies per leg is 3 or more. ClariFly ® Larvicide protects from disease-carrying flies that feed on dairy cattle, including house flies, stable flies and horn flies. Adult stable flies take one bloodmeal a day from the legs, sides, back and belly of large animals and the legs, head and ears of small animals. Creating Apple Cider Vinegar and Witch Hazel fly Repellent: This is a natural outdoor fly repellent … Houseflies are usually the biggest problem for horse owners; if you have stable flies, you'll need a different type of trap. Unlike the housefly, where the mouth part is adapted for sponging, the stable fly mouth parts have biting structures. Fortunately, there are several products available which do a great job. The most practical and economical method for reducing stable fly populations is the elimination or appropriate management of larval food sources. Suggested Fly Traps: Place fly traps near the stable fly breeding areas. Predatory mites, beetles, and other fly larvae feast on the developingstable fly larvae. Some parasitoid wasps can be purchased commercially to enhance the number of wasps present on your property. Use a feed-thru fly control product prior to the onset of the season to inhibit the development of adult houseflies and stable flies in the manure of treated horses. Most filth flies can reproduce quickly in warm weather. Larvicides provide control against developing larvae. In warm weather, the pupal stage lasts 6 to 20 days. Beneficial organisms such as predators, parasites and natural competitors occur naturally in similar breeding locations of the stable fly larvae. Due to the short amount of time spent on the animal (2-5 mins) and the location (legs), no products have a long enough residual to be effective when sprayed directly onto the animal. Control is warranted when bunching, stamping and tail switching is excessive or when the economic threshold of 3 stable flies per leg is met. “Researchers believe that the stable fly is programmed to target the places of an animal where the skin is soft and the capillaries are close to the surface. The control of stable flies is an ongoing project for any livestock, horse or pet owner. There are many insecticide control methods available to manage horn fly numbers; backrubbers, dust bags, insecticidal ear tags and strips, pour-ons, oral larvicides, low pressure sprayers, mist blower sprayers, and the Vet Gun. Flies and biting insects can ruin your horse's day. Win the Battle Against Stable Flies. This often occurs when they are picked up by weather fronts and carried aloft for several hundred miles. Stable flies are commonly found near stables, but also along the seashore and near dog kennels. It is important to remember that flies cannot develop in dry materials. Besides being annoying, their bites also spread parasites and diseases. Stable flies are known as filth flies or ankle biters-they lay their eggs in spoiled or fermenting organic matter mixed with manure, soil and moisture so these conditions often occur along feed bunks, edges of feeding aprons, along stacks of hay/straw, poorly managed compost piles, winter hay feeding sites, near water sources, etc. Large mammals – cattle, horses, donkeys, dogs, swine, sheep, goats and camels, and zoo animals. The early morning and late afternoon hours are commonly peak feeding times. Insect repellent does not work on stable flies. Stable Flies can move great distances. One alternative is to combine the removal or management of fly-breeding material with the use of traps and parasitic wasps to kill both the adult and immature flies. Houseflies, stable flies and horn flies can spread the bacterium Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, the causative agent of pigeon fever. Your Horse's Natural Fly-Control Strategies. Protecting Your Horse From Strangles: Using Fly Control as Part of Your Strategy. 2 At higher infestations, cattle demonstrated even greater reduction in average daily gains. LambdaStar UltraCap 9.7 or The larvae occur in decaying fibrous substrates: straw bedding, wet hay, algal mats and wet grass clippings, accumulations of manure from dairy and beef cattle, mixtures of soil and partially composted bedding and animal manure and crop by products. Use good flywear, such as Farnam's SuperMask ® II Horse Fly Mask, to help protect your horse's face, eyes and ears. Animals that are being attacked will stamp and kick their legs, as well as bunch together. Because stable flies mainly congregate around animals’ legs, it can be difficult to get adequate control with insecticides. AgriLife Extension's online Bookstore offers educational information and resources related to our many areas of expertise and programming; from agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources to nutrition, wellness for families and youth, and much more. Stable flies are a developmental vector for Habronema microstoma, a spiruid nematode, which causes gastric and cutaneous forms of habronemiasis in horses throughout the world. Treating livestock or pets with insecticides and repellents can aid in control, however the impact is often short-lived (hours to days). Contact Aerosol Sprays: You can use sprays that contain pyrethrin for immediate results, giving a quick knockdown. Furthermore, due to the dispersal capability of stable flies, larval development sites on your property may be causing problems for other animals that may be miles away or in residential areas where the flies feed on humans and pets. During periods of high stable fly activity, humans can be severely annoyed and this insect has been called "the biting house fly." Peak activity usually occurs during warm periods following rainfall. Irritation by the stable fly biting cause cattle to consume less feed, to grow at a slower rate and to convert less feed into body mass. You need a Stable Fly Trap to get them and … Dry breeding grounds will encourage beneficial insect and mite development. The economic impact of the stable fly is very significant. There are two types of traps - those that attract flies visually (best for biting stable flies) and those that attract flies by odor (best for house flies). Cattle, horses, and people are typically bitten on the legs while dogs and swine are bitten on the ears. Eggs hatch in less than 24 hours to produce larvae. larvae pass through 3 instars and pupate in the last larval skin. 1 In a compilation of studies, the five fly population groups showed a reduction in feed efficiency that resulted in an average loss of $8.51 per animal per season.