Our Thanks to Spalding Labs

We rarely endorse or promote products for the fear of someone saying that were getting some kind of freebee from it, but here you go. After years of fighting flies, we found something that actually works. Sue G. first told us about this. She said, We just put out these little bugs, Fly Predators, that kill fly larva. My first question was, Ok, how bad are these little bugs going to be? Seems when something comes along to take care of one thing they usually end up being the pest themselves...Sue explained that Fly Predators are so small you barely see them and their stingers arent large enough to sting man nor beast. Since weve spent 1,000s of dollars over the years to ward off nasty flies, we decided to try... No matter how big your facilities, these little guys will do wonders for your fly problems! Theyve done a good job for us. Unfortunately, we heard about them late in the season so the flies had a big head start on us! ... We saw a dramatic decrease ...I wish we had found out about them sooner. We wont make the same mistake next year. We have often wondered what we were doing to our beloved horses when we read on the fly spray labels, Dangerous, wash hands thoroughly, wear rubber gloves. ... Something else we found is that the people at Spalding Labs were the nicest people to deal with ...theyll spend hours of their time explaining all about these great little buggers to you. You can buy 100,000 of these little guys and have spent much less than buying a weeks worth of bug spray. I was able to talk to a couple other farms that have been using Fly Predators and they have all said ...We love them and they do a fantastic job. ...

A Natural Method of Fly Control

Flies are a major cause of discomfort and warm-weather diseases of horses. House flies, biting stable flies, horn flies, and face flies are found everywhere horses are found, and cause many problems. Flies torture horses by biting. Many horses develop allergic skin conditions from being bitten, and fly bite allergy is the most common skin disease found in horses. Stamping at flies and kicking at them causes shoe boils on the elbow, belly sores, and abscesses.

Flies irritate horses’ eyes, often causing serious infections. They are attracted to wounds, complicating them with infections and often causing persistent and dangerous “summer sores” (habronemiasis). These insect pests also carry contagious disease from one horse to another. For example, if a fly is attracted to the nasal discharge of a horse with a cold, flu, or strangels, it easily transmits the infection to the next horse it lands on.

In short, flies are PESTS. Horsemen have always known this, and for centuries have tried to minimize the problem by hauling away manure (where flies breed) and protecting their horses with repellents (such as oil of citronella), face masks, protective blankets and boots, and the use of fly netting and screens.

It has long been known that there are many insects that are beneficial and, in fact, vital to man. Some of these “friendly” insects can be used to control “pest” insects. For example, ladybugs and lacewings help control agricultural pests.

Similarly, a tiny insect called the Fly Predator can help control those flies which create such a nuisance around the stable. Fly Predators are very small members of the wasp family, but they do not sting or cause people any problems. They are nature’s method of controlling pest fly populations. They attack the immature forms of pest flies where they breed, particularly in manure. And they are specific to flies, never attacking anything else.

In 1980 I was at a show-horse stable treating several horses. It was just before noon, and the temperature was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I suddenly realized that there were no flies about causing their usual annoyance. “What are you using to control flies?” I asked, wondering if they had found some new potent insecticide. “Fly Predators” the stable manager replied.

I had heard of this biological method of fly control, but had not seen its effectiveness before. That summer I found that several more of my clients were subscribing to a Fly Predator service, with results ranging from good to excellent. At my own ranch, the fly problem was very bad that year, despite the daily use of repellents on the horses, and the use of sprays around the barns.

Two big fly traps hung beneath the barn eaves, and I had to dump them twice that summer because they had filled with dead flies.

Dr. Miller is a world renowned Vet, lecturer and writer and the leading proponent of what has now become known as natural horsemanship. The following article describes his experiences after the first few years of use. He now is in his 25th year of using Fly Predators and for the past decade he has been gracious enough to allow us to use his quote "They've done a superb job on my place" and photo in our advertisements without compensation. His article to this day remains the best overview of Fly Predators. More about Dr. Miller at www.robertmmiller.com

The first summer I started using Fly Predators, supplied by Spalding Laboratories of Arroyo Grande, California, I started early in the spring, before the fly problem got bad. I followed Spalding’s instructions, using my monthly shipments of Fly Predators exactly as they told me to in the corrals, around the barn, on the manure pile, and in the pastures. I was very pleased with the results. My fly problem was greatly reduced. If my neighbors had been on the same program, the results might have been even more spectacular. One fly trap accumulated only about two inches of flies all summer and the other even less. I continued using fly repellants on the horses several times a week, but I used no other traps or baits (even though the company suggests that they be used in conjunction with the predators) because I wanted to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

The cost of such a program is nominal. It compares to what the stable owner will spend on conventional methods, but in my opinion, the results are superior. You are preventing flies instead of killing them after they hatch. The flies will not develop chemical resistance. Most important, the environment is not becoming contaminated, because a natural biological control method is being used.

Before one adopts a Fly Predator program, several things must be understood:

1. The program should be started early and conducted according to the instructions.
2. Don’t expect 100 percent results. Nothing now known can give 100 percent fly control. The predators minimize the fly problem. They don’t eliminate it.
3. Do not combine a predator program with indiscriminate pesticide spraying with insecticides. The chemicals will kill the Fly Predator, thus ruining the program. However, the use of repellents on the horses, the use of traps and baits, and the use of selective area spraying is encouraged.