Flies on Donkey

[thankful_k]

So, I have a donkey, and I have noticed that he has flies crawling on his coat. Every now & then he gives a twitch, but it doesn't seem like he's being tormented by them. He was just castrated a couple of weeks ago, and the wound is closing up, and besides, the flies aren't congregating there.

These flies don't really look like normal house flies ... little smaller, and the wings are different, kind of swept-back looking, but I could be crazy

 

[havasu]

Very diluted Avon "Skin So Soft" was our go-to fly repellent. Made my boy "Cooler" smell great as well.

 

[Peanut]

Are you close to other livestock? In other words if other critters are close by you're fighting a losing battle.

If you are isolated... Diatomaceous earth will help in several ways, it kills physically, not chemically. Many flies reproduce in piles of manure. DE is routinely mixed in feed. It kills fly larva in the poo. Dust any flat surfaces in your barn and your animals.

If there's a herd of cattle next door DE will have limited benefit.

If you have a biblical plague of flies you might have to resort to commercial pesticides. Flies can drive livestock nuts! Literally!

Again, know your pest, learn exactly which biting livestock fly is the problem and deal with it.

 

[Pearl]

I use "Equi-spot" , it's like the spot on treatment you would use on dogs/cats for fleas, but for flies on horses. Says it lasts for two weeks, but I also use garlic powder on my donkey's grain so I easily get a month out of it!!

 

[SheepDog]

I prefer a more tempered approach; a flame thrower!

 

[Peanut]

I use "Equi-spot" , it's like the spot on treatment you would use on dogs/cats for fleas, but for flies on horses. Says it lasts for two weeks, but I also use garlic powder on my donkey's grain so I easily get a month out of it!!

Got me thinking so I checked “The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm & Stable” by Juliette Levy. I knew this book listed the different worms and treatments by species(livestock) but didn't remember mention of flies.

I finally found one little paragraph in the horse section. The first was put used motor oil on various wood planks etc in the barn... As if a barn weren't already a fire hazard. Thanks but I'll use DE.

For the horse... rub strong red wine vinegar on the hooves and fetlocks morning and evening. Evidently it'll be absorbed and flies hate it. Maybe others? "Honest officer, its my horse that's drunk, smell him!"

Plants - hang pots of flowering elecampane in the stables. Also hang pots of sage, rosemary and chamomile.

I know there are others, take time to dig through my pile of herb books. Flies are generally mentioned in context to something else.

 

[Amish Heart]

Go to Tractor Supply, and they have powders that you can put on the donkey that the flies will stay off of. Every summer we have to powder our dogs, and put pink goo for flies on our dog's ears. They're older dogs and the flies will go for their ears, I also hang fly catching bags, especially near our chicken area

 

[Magus]

Try diatomaceous earth or white sulfur directly, and put out a big pan of fly flit if you can find any, just someplace chickens won't find it! the idiots eat it!
Looks like fly flit is off the market, try some of these, I use a similar rig on roaches. all a question of bait I guess.
https://americanceliac.org/homemade...y smell,,a few drops of dish wash liquid soap.

 

[Magus]

I miss the ORIGINAL, real red panther, that stuff killed EVERYTHING!