Mosquito and Fly Control Measures.

As you all know it has been a very wet summer so far.

Here are a few tips to control mosquitoes and flies.

- Eliminate mosquito breeding sites (standing water). fill pot holes, clean ditches so they drain, fix leaking plumbing, empty and turn over any unused water vats or pales. Remove or drill holes in containers that collect water such as old tires. Insure that building gutters are not retaining water.

-Clean water vats on a regular cycle such as weekly or monthly.

-Place water vats on a hard surface or crushed stone surface to minimize any mud.

-Clean stalls daily and pick the manure from the paddocks that are close to the barn.

-Keep grain and feed room clean.

-Keep compost and manure piles at least 100 feet from the barn.

-Use fans in the barn to provide ventilation

-Use fly traps and strips in enclosed areas.

-Keep lights off in the barn at night.

-Use fly masks, sheets, or insect repellants designed to repel mosquitoes.

-Consider using predators or larvicides when it is difficult to eliminate particular breeding sites.

These tips were "borrowed" from Bonny's textbook: Equine Health and Emergency Management http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1418065676/?tag=flatwave-20