Insect control in horses in quite necessary because insects can be very irritating and at the same time they can also cause a threat to the health of a horse. Insects, bugs, stable flies, and mosquitoes that generally feed on horses’ blood fill the lives of horses. Some insects are irritating and others possess a sting that is painful. Some other varieties of insects bite and bring ailments and several diseases among horses. The bad news in this case is that there are different types of insecticides available in misters, topical sprays and Foggers that come with warning signs. When hauling your horses in horse trailers make sure they are free of insects, because it is not healthy for them to have insects for on a long trip.
Tackling with flies in horses
House and stable flies are the most common pests found in horses and in all livestock. It is very important to carry out animal waste management in order to tackle with such flies. Stable flies and house flies are similar in their appearance, life cycle and size. Stable flies possess sucking and piercing mouthparts and they use these parts to penetrate into the skin of a horse and then they feed on horse blood. The bites of such flies are painful and the animals react by tail switching and foot stamping. On the other hand, house flies possess sponging mouthparts. The best localized treatment for dealing with both of these flies found in horses is phosphate insecticide.
Doing away with lice in horses
There are two species of lice affecting horses and they are horse sucking louse and horse biting louse. These are frequent pests of horses. These species of lice are mandate horse parasites and they deposit their eggs on horse hair. The horse-biting louse is an approximately one-tenth inch long, and it has a chestnut-brown color with a yellow-colored abdomen and dark crossbars. Horse sucking louse is around one-eighth inches long and its color is basically slate grey. Its head is narrow and its abdomen broad. These are the most common varieties of louse affecting horses. Insecticide applications can help in controlling lice in horses.
Controlling ticks on horses
Ticks are generally not very common issues in horses, but brown dog or American ticks might occasionally cause a problem for horses. Ticks typically feed inside a horse’s ear, causing the horse intense pain. The most common methods for controlling ticks in horses involve physically removing them or using a canister aerosol spray inside the ear. Insecticide treatment is also effective for dealing with winter ticks in horses.
Managing scabies mites in horses
There are typically three species of scabies mites affecting horses. Two species burrow into the skin of a horse while the third species feed on the skin surface. The best thing to manage scabies mite infestations among horses is to use insecticide spray. Insect control in horses should always be done by identifying the species or that particular insect that has infected the horse.
