RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
jess

Bloody Bot-flies

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First bots of the autumn have arrived on the farm and are drive my horses crazy.

The usual home-made insect spray doesn't keep these things at bay - any effective treatments from the hands-on horsey ppl here - plse share...

One of mine lashes out something wicked trying to get the things away from him and risks hurting himself ...

Cheers

Jess

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Hi Jess,

We used to breed dogs and found Camphorated oil sprayed on their ears kept flies from biting them. Passed this on to a buddy with horses and they tried it with great success, even when it has been on awhile and loses its smell the oily residue keeps the botts from landing as well.

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The FDA banned camphorated oils in 1980,it sounds a similar evil to asuntol,the key to these preparations lies in the concentrations,they have a moderate dermal effect but are highly toxic orally,there's no easy method without consequence by the sound

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I wouldn't touch asuntol with a barge pole, let alone apply it to horses. I thought it was banned here years ago though there may be other organophosphates that are still available and would work. Perhaps the Sheriff would comment. Where are you? I've hardly seen a bot fly or bot egg since the 1980s when some clever people developed Ivermectin.

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bevhawkins

lsb member

Join Date: Jul 2004

Location: New Zealand.

Posts: 1,438

Mix 15ml citronella, 2tbs meths, 2tbs washing up liquid, 4tbs vinigar and 250-ml of strong black tea into 2 litres of water and spray on twice a day

.....ripchord sounds just as evil as asuntol

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Thanks all - Gruff - that's the recipe I use too and it's good for flies but those damned bots are pretty hard-core! Yesterday I dumped a tablespoon of lavender oil into the mix so I'll see how that goes.

ALso ordered some BG insect spray from Natural Equine so will be interested to see how this commercial but "natural" rememdy goes ...

While I appreciate all the suggestions and remember the days I used to give my dogs asuntol rinses for fleas - I'm not prepared to go down the organophosphate route ...

Cheers

J

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Hi havent seen a bot near my horses for years - but do know that bots can fly up to 6kms

The secret to no bot is drench and drench at the end of  April when the larvae in the stomach migrate to hind gut [this is what I have been told] so..... if everyone drenches for bots at this time of the year its simple they dont survive. Other MUST is to scrape the eggs off your horses as if they rub their mouth over them they then ingest the eggs and the whole process starts all over   -  good luck

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Yep cheers Dee - onto all that - but given the range the little critters can fly over - adn the fact you can't control everyone else's equine health in the area - the wee beasties survive to fly another day.

Am spraying daily with either my own brew or the Natural Equine product and so far have seen no more bot flies (or eggs on the ponies)

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