1. How many eggs does a female fly typically lay in a batch?
A) 75 to 100
B) 100 to 500
C) 500 to 1,000
2. If you’re applying insect repellent to your horse before riding him, you should…
A) spray him before tacking up.
B) tack him up before spraying.
C) wipe him down instead of spraying.
3. True or false: When face flies are out in force, it’s OK to ride your horse with a face mask on.
T / F
4. True or false: If you’re using fly traps, you need to know which type of flies predominate around your barn.
T / F
HOW’D YOU DO? (Answers below.)
1. A is correct. A female fly may lay as few as 75 to 100 eggs per batch, but she begins laying eggs 10 to 12 days after she matures, and can lay five or six batches in her lifetime. That means each female fly can produce up to 600 offspring. That’s why suppressing breeding is essential to good fly control. Flies like to breed in moist, dark areas, ideally surrounded by trash or manure.
[HERE’S HELP: Learn all the best fly-fighting strategies.]
2. B is correct. Tack him up before spraying. If you spray his entire body and then tack up, heat and pressure in the saddle area can make the chemicals in the repellent irritating to his skin.
3. T is correct, assuming you use a fly-mask model designed for riding. Such masks are easier for your horse to see through than a standard mask, so don’t compromise his vision during riding. They’re typically not as sturdy as a regular mask, however, so aren’t meant to be left on your horse when he’s turned out.
Try Cashel’s Quiet-Riding Fly Mask available on Amazon.
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4. T is correct. Many fly traps attract only “filth” flies (that is, houseflies and blow flies); others are designed to target stable flies. So before you buy, figure out which kind of flies you’ve got. (Houseflies are usually the biggest problem for horse owners.)
[LEARN MORE about the flies that pester your horse.]
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