Simple Idea Keeps Flies Away

Simple Idea Keeps Flies Away LIVESTOCK Horses/Mules Instead of spraying an entire horse with fly repellent FARM SHOW reader Mark Davis suggests a simple idea to protect the most vulnerable place – the horse’s eyes He mixes a capful of an oil-base pyrethrin concentrate into a 1/2-in thick layer of petroleum jelly “It’s just a little less thick than the jelly ” he says “Then I take a generous amount and make a line under each eye and on top of the eyelids It’s like how football players put black paint under their eyes ” Last year he applied his concoction daily when he fed his 28-year-old black Tennessee Walker gelding and his 11-year-old white paint Tennessee Walker mare “I didn’t see them shaking their heads ” Davis notes the way horses do when flies are after them Flies landed on other parts of their bodies but the horses didn’t seem to be overly bothered by them With the right consistency the application lasts all day even in West Virginia’s heat and humidity Davis says one of his goals was to reduce the use of insecticides and he only used about 8 or 10 capfuls of the pyrethrin a natural plant-based insecticide and half a jar of petroleum jelly all year “Make sure the pyrethrin is oil-based ” he says “It really seems to keep the flies from congregating in the corner of their eyes and I assume it would work on cattle or any livestock ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mark Davis Rt 1 Box 127A Fisher Ridge Rd Liberty W Va 25124 ph 304 421-1440

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