Categories: Pets

The Dreaded Horse Fly!

A biting horse fly is a determined female in need of blood for reproduction. She comes equipped with a mandible; a lower jaw to accomplish this blood-sucking motherly existence. The bite hurts the victim, and worse, it’s as if the biting horse flies are drawn to vulnerable areas; places where a horse has no natural defense. They can’t be reached by mane or tail, they can’t be stomped off. These female horse flies are in for the kill, so to speak. They are out for blood and they are equipped with anti-coagulation saliva to keep the blood flowing.

Horse flies feed mainly on mammals, though birds are often bitten as well. As horse owners, we have all at one time or another come to our horse’s defense and swatted one of these horse flies and were/are absolutely amazed at the amount of blood these little vampire-like flies sucked up in just a few seconds. A horse fly is distinguished mainly by their size, they can be up to an inch long, and are black or brown in color.

The female “survival of the fittest” horse fly is tenacious. A little swat won’t do. She’ll shake it off and come back for more. She’ll bite you, too, if given the chance. And just as with horses, she’ll go for a vulnerable area; your back, your shoulders, the nape of your neck. She could be a leading character in an Anne Rice or Steven King novel. She is programmed to slash flesh and suck blood. She is fulfilling her life’s purpose.

Okay, if the bite didn’t hurt, given how hard these little blood suckers work, we might be sympathetic to their plight. But no, the bites do hurt. They can render a 1200 pound animal to hysterics. One horse fly zooming in on them is enough to send a horse running, rolling incessantly, kicking, bucking, rubbing fences, trees, and some, even squealing in fright, pain, or indignation. Sadder yet, is the horse that silently suffers.

Horse Guard Wasps are known predators of horse flies. They are available through horse supply companies. And of course, fly spray works to a point. Fly sheets are only somewhat effective. One of our horses recently came in frantic with a horse fly stuck up under the fly sheet. Horse flies are smart for their own good. It’s all they know.

Horse flies seem to come out in droves during the heat of the day, perspiration puts out the call to the wild. The larvae of horse flies live in water or moist areas. A manure pile with pools of horse urine lying around is probably like a flashing neon-sign horse fly resort to them. Canvas your farm area for problem areas and eradicate them. Don’t allow your horses to run frantically, which will only compound the problem. And again, this can’t be said often enough, do not think your horse will one day, decide not to be bothered by bug bites. It will never happen, not until the day a bug bite somehow miraculously no longer hurts.

Spare your horse the heat of the day outside. Answer the call if he or she seems to be in distress. Bring the horse inside for a while and put him or her back out later. Sometimes simply hosing the horse off, ridding it of the immediate danger of the swarming horse flies, is enough to temporarily remedy the situation. The smell of perspiration is gone. The “wet” horse flies are befuddled and gone. Unfortunately, the horse fly problem is an ongoing issue. Be diligent, be mindful. Your horse will thank you.