Sunday, June 08, 2014

summertime blues: beating the pesky biting insects

It's June and suddenly we're dealing with flies on November Hill, which has made me remember how grateful I am for two of my favorite companies. 

SOX FOR HORSES and their wonderful summer whinny leggings are a favorite horsewear item here. Keil Bay literally lifts his hooves and assists me as I pull them onto his legs. They are wonderful for keeping flies from biting but they can also be very useful in helping keep flies off leg wounds and hastening healing. 

Check them out here: http://www.whinnywarmers.com/

ARBICO ORGANICS sells fly predators and food grade diatomaceous earth in 50 lb. bags. I've used fly predators for many years now and knew they made a big difference in the fly population. This year I messed up my order and didn't get the first batch until close to the end of May. I realized we were seeing a lot more flies than usual. They helped me get my order sorted out and sent a double batch to get me going with catch-up fly control. 

You can check this company out here: http://www.arbico-organics.com/

I've done all my other things too. Hanging clear plastic bags filled with water in the barn entrances, using the sticky fly strips to take care of the adult flies while the predators work on the larvae, and mixing up a custom batch of fly spray using essential oils, apple cider vinegar, and water.

It's not my favorite time of year but it's a time when I am grateful for two of my favorite companies. 

Thanks to Socks For Horses and Arbico Organics!

Stay tuned for a fun giveaway that will showcase a new favorite company who offered to let me test one of their products. It arrived this week and I'm thrilled with the quality and really excited to share it with you. More soon, so keep an eye out!

Hope all are doing well as we near the summer solstice.






6 comments:

Grey Horse Matters said...

Thanks for the info! I'll check out the links. Hope you're having lots of great rides on the Big Bay.

billie said...

Not lots, A, but some - which is good this time of year now that the heat is kicking in. Hope you're well!

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

Stinky fly bait hanging jars, sticky strips, fly mask and leg spraying when there's no wind are working for us so far.

It has been insanely dry - a month with nearly no precip so far. Doing the rain dance daily :D

billie said...

C, we just had a little rain today. Hoping for more tomorrow!

jme said...

ugh! i just had to break out the fly masks for my guys, and am looking for some other good fly prevention options that don't involve dousing them with toxic chemicals. i'll check these out, thanks!

hope your summer is going well! happy solstice :-)

billie said...

Wow - j - so great to see you here! Would love an email with an update on life and horses and books and such. :)