# preventing flies from breeding in manure pile



## evilamc (Sep 22, 2011)

Buy fly predators and do a feed through fly control, like buggzo. I also hang traps around my fence line.

Sadly I doubt the tarp will stop them. Its NOT too late to order fly predators. You could buy some traps to hang until the predators get to you though.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

You could try a feed through like Simplifly or any of the others available. It makes it so the fly larva never mature but, it doesn't work on things like gnats.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

The tarp should help to heat things up in the manure pile and that will kill eggs. You can also poke holes in the pile and pour regular (full sugar) pop down the holes, the sugar helps to heat things up so they'll compost better. Then there's Barn Lime (not the caustic stuff) and sprinkled over the pile it's pretty effective too. Fly predators help a bunch but can get pricey. Bottom line is, you have horses, you have flies to a greater or lesser degree. Get the manure broken down/up and you'll deter a lot of them. They only like to lay eggs when the manure is whole. If it's broken and scattered it's not so inviting, but gnats and 'noseeums' still hang around.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> The tarp should help to heat things up in the manure pile and that will kill eggs. You can also poke holes in the pile and pour regular (full sugar) pop down the holes, the sugar helps to heat things up so they'll compost better. Then there's Barn Lime (not the caustic stuff) and sprinkled over the pile it's pretty effective too. Fly predators help a bunch but can get pricey. Bottom line is, you have horses, you have flies to a greater or lesser degree. Get the manure broken down/up and you'll deter a lot of them. They only like to lay eggs when the manure is whole. If it's broken and scattered it's not so inviting, but gnats and 'noseeums' still hang around.


It's not very hot here... still freezing at night. You'd think that would kill them, but no. It just keeps the flying ones down, for now. They're not dead, just waiting to pounce. But maybe the heat from the composting would build more under a tarp. 

So if I turned over the manure, would that help? 

Lime isn't a bad idea. We add it to our soil anyway, so it would be fine to put in our garden. 

Of course we're going to have flies, but if there's something I can do now, I'd want to do it.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

The tiny flies are manure flies, they do not bother anything. It's the ones that bother horses and people you need to worry about.

I've already started my monthly fly predator deliveries from Spaulding. I keep my manure picked up, and it is tightly tarped. Tarping does help with fly control. Still have some flies and odor but not much. Of course, very different climate. If you get on the Spaulding website, they have a great deal of information about how to control different kinds of flies. Fly predator wasps only work on certain flies and not others (they don't have any effect, for example, on horseflies and other biting flies). 

Fly control works best if you work all the angles, and specifically target the flies you have. For example Spaulding's last month blog entry was about keeping damp hay chaff picked up, as this is a prime breeding ground for many kinds of flies. 

I haven't needed to put out traps before, but I might this year as it has been hella wet, and that's what flies love -- wet. A lot of fly control is about eliminating breeding habitats.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> You could try a feed through like Simplifly or any of the others available. It makes it so the fly larva never mature but, it doesn't work on things like gnats.


Not a fan of feeding through any kind of pesticide. I do worry about upsetting their stomachs. 

I have, however, begun adding garlic powder to their feed. It's supposed to make the horses less appealing to flies. Not sure it'll work, but it's easy and non-toxic in the tiny doses I feed.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Avna said:


> The tiny flies are manure flies, they do not bother anything. It's the ones that bother horses and people you need to worry about.
> 
> I've already started my monthly fly predator deliveries from Spaulding. I keep my manure picked up, and it is tightly tarped. Tarping does help with fly control. Still have some flies and odor but not much. Of course, very different climate. If you get on the Spaulding website, they have a great deal of information about how to control different kinds of flies. Fly predator wasps only work on certain flies and not others (they don't have any effect, for example, on horseflies and other biting flies).
> 
> ...


Yeah, we're getting nothing but rain this week. Not going to help the mud situation. 

Like I said, I can't move the manure or it would already be gone. Given the fact that we get several feet of snow from November to March, hauling it away daily isn't an option either. We have to dump it behind the barn for those months. Everyone here has a huge manure pile right now, but I'm thinking I might add the tarp.

I've had this discussion about fly predators before on HF. Unless I can talk to a biologist or entymologist about introducing a new species in our specific environment, I'm not comfortable doing it. Ecosystems are sensitive, so unless it's a species that already lives here, introducing a new species in a foreign environment just doesn't feel right to me. Now I do have friends living here who use biological pest-control in their greenhouses (ladybugs, mostly) so they might be able to advise me.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

We have flies here almost year round and they get very bad. For a long time I tried all sorts of things from natural sups to spreading the manure three times a day to dry out, fly predators and still they were around. 

After a couple of years of trying everything I could think of, I gave in and went with the feed through. I worm my horses, so am already putting pesticides in. No tummy upsets and the flies were significantly reduced. 

Feed through is another alternative to keep in mind if you ever get to the point where you (and the horses) can't stand it anymore.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Acadianartist said:


> It's not very hot here... still freezing at night. You'd think that would kill them, but no. It just keeps the flying ones down, for now. They're not dead, just waiting to pounce. But maybe the heat from the composting would build more under a tarp.
> 
> So if I turned over the manure, would that help?
> 
> ...


Turning the manure over COULD help, but it would be a lot of work because then you're losing all the heat in the pile and you need to make sure it's all broken up (which just piling it back up means it's not) and really needs to be scattered, which I get you can't do yet. 

I do the pop & lime things and my pile composts down really nicely. In a year I'll have lots of good black dirt to spread and I make a new pile every couple of years. Whenever the tractor starts to tilt up when I'm headed to the top to dump a new load, it's time to start a new pile. The tarp would work if your pile is taller than long, my pile would need a bunch of tarps because I tend to spread the load out as I go so it's probably 75-100 ft long but may only get to be about 5-7 ft tall over the period of a couple of years.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Acadianartist said:


> Yeah, we're getting nothing but rain this week. Not going to help the mud situation.
> 
> Like I said, I can't move the manure or it would already be gone. Given the fact that we get several feet of snow from November to March, hauling it away daily isn't an option either. We have to dump it behind the barn for those months. Everyone here has a huge manure pile right now, but I'm thinking I might add the tarp.
> 
> I've had this discussion about fly predators before on HF. Unless I can talk to a biologist or entymologist about introducing a new species in our specific environment, I'm not comfortable doing it. Ecosystems are sensitive, so unless it's a species that already lives here, introducing a new species in a foreign environment just doesn't feel right to me. Now I do have friends living here who use biological pest-control in their greenhouses (ladybugs, mostly) so they might be able to advise me.


I suggest that you contact the Canadian equivalent of your county agricultural agent, and ask them. My background is in environmental science, organic farming, and habitat restoration. I have never seen anything, ever, anywhere, that would give me pause about using parasite wasps as part of a fly control program. Parasitic wasps do not persist where there is no source of house fly larvae. The reason Spaulding sends batches monthly is that they do not persist. If they did persist, Spaulding would be out of business. 

This is a good overview about fly control, from the University of Minnesota.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> We have flies here almost year round and they get very bad. For a long time I tried all sorts of things from natural sups to spreading the manure three times a day to dry out, fly predators and still they were around.
> 
> After a couple of years of trying everything I could think of, I gave in and went with the feed through. I worm my horses, so am already putting pesticides in. No tummy upsets and the flies were significantly reduced.
> 
> Feed through is another alternative to keep in mind if you ever get to the point where you (and the horses) can't stand it anymore.


Interesting. I will do more reading about this. I don't mean to sound closed-off to other options, but as a relatively new horse-owner, I want to be cautious before jumping into something like this. A feed-through may work, if it's something the horses won't digest, and something that's safe to add to our garden down the road. 

Last summer the flies weren't bad. When they were at their worst, the horses would come into the barn (I have dutch doors that are open 24/7 in the summer). Flies were not a big problem in the barn because it's cool and dark in there. However, the barn was brand new last summer, and everything was fresh. I will be washing the stalls down with Pine-sol (I heard flies don't like the smell of it), but I'm worried that there is a lot more manure, and fly attractants now that the horses have been living here for almost a year.


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## evilamc (Sep 22, 2011)

https://horsetech.com/buggzo

Buggzo is far from feeding your horse pesticide...
*Ingredients*

Processed Grain by-products, Dried Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Yeast Culture, Brewers Yeast, Diatomaceous Earth, Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles, Thiamine Monohydrate (Vitamin B1), Garlic Oil, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacinamide, Grapeseed Extract, Vegetable Oil


Most feed throughs consist of garlic, vinegar and diatomaceous earth, then some stuff added in to help with flavor or help make it a pellet


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

The 'feed throughs' like Buggzo work by deterring flies from the horse, they won't do anything to kill flies, deter them or break their breeding cycle on the muck heap
The ones like Simplify are a completely different product. They contain a chemical called Diflubenzuron, also known as Dimilin.
Its that chemical that disrupts the breeding cycle. Its been very well tested for safety and is really effective. Its hardly any different to giving your horse a dewormer with a chemical in it
Alternatively if you can get hold of some Dimilin you can just sprinkle it over your muck heap and it will do the same job
DE will kill bugs if they come into contact with it when its dry but it won't work if its wet or even damp
Fly Predators are the only real 'natural' thing that work


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## brightspot (Mar 9, 2017)

Silly question. How do you get the fly predators to stay in your yard?:think:


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

evilamc said:


> https://horsetech.com/buggzo
> 
> Buggzo is far from feeding your horse pesticide...
> *Ingredients*
> ...


Fair enough, but I don't want to feed grain or grain by-products, nor do I want to feed Biotin, Brewer's yeast or some of those other supplements because I already give them to my horses in the form of supplements. I won't give them pelleted feed because I don't want any of those additives (flavour, oil, etc.), so I'd rather not give it to them as a fly deterrent. 

Maybe there's something out there I could use though. Will see what the other options are.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

brightspot said:


> Silly question. How do you get the fly predators to stay in your yard?:think:


They have a very short range. So you scatter them next to your manure pile and on the edges of your dry lot, say, taking care that they are in grass (to protect them from birds eating them before they can hatch) or something similar. They have very similar needs as flies do, which makes sense -- they hatch when flies hatch.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

jaydee said:


> The 'feed throughs' like Buggzo work by deterring flies from the horse, they won't do anything to kill flies, deter them or break their breeding cycle on the muck heap
> The ones like Simplify are a completely different product. They contain a chemical called Diflubenzuron, also known as Dimilin.
> Its that chemical that disrupts the breeding cycle. Its been very well tested for safety and is really effective. Its hardly any different to giving your horse a dewormer with a chemical in it
> Alternatively if you can get hold of some Dimilin you can just sprinkle it over your muck heap and it will do the same job
> ...


At the risk of sounding paranoid and argumentative, companies that make it have also tested chemicals like glyphosate (used in Roundup, for example) and tell us they're perfectly safe, but I have my reasons for disagreeing with that. In the case of the product you suggest, my concern would be that disrupting the breeding cycle of one insect probably means disrupting the breeding cycle of others as well, potentially leading to the disruption of the entire ecosystem. I JUST want to target the flies in my manure pile. I have other strategies for dealing with flies in the barn, in the yard, or on the horses. 

I do realize there are harmful chemicals in dewormers too. Which is why I do it sparingly. However, the alternative is a sick horse, so that's not desirable. In this case, we're dealing with a nuisance more than a life-threatening situation.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Since you do not have a lot of bedding, your manure pile is probably anaerobic.


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

Chickens.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Acadianartist said:


> Not a fan of feeding through any kind of pesticide. I do worry about upsetting their stomachs.
> 
> I have, however, begun adding garlic powder to their feed. It's supposed to make the horses less appealing to flies. Not sure it'll work, but it's easy and non-toxic in the tiny doses I feed.


1. A cautionary note regarding garlic --- if either of the horses have had gastric or hind gut ulcers, garlic is not a good idea. 

I fed garlic for years for three of my four horses to keep the ticks off them. Garlic was 85% successful keeping the ticks off but it didn't do anything for flies of any size. My Arab frequently had gastric ulcer flare ups so he was the horse who was never fed garlic.

2. Dolemite lime, aka garden lime is what I use in the stalls and over new graves in the Pet Sematary (yes I know the spelling, lol). It would work on the manure pile. 

Where I live, covering a manure pile with a tarp is asking for an incendiary fire before midnight - I wouldn't do it, lollol


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

Setting up a house and a barn has already disrupted the ecosystem, and adding an environment that allows the breeding of thousands of flies doesn't help either, if you think about. 

With that said, why not call the fly predator company (Spaulding?) and ask them questions and discuss your concerns.

Like @walkinthewalk, I live in TN now, however, I do cover my piles with a tarp. I then shove a four foot piece of pvc pipe, with holes drilled through out and then stick a pipe or two into into each pile. Allows rain and air to circulate through each pile. I can control the rate of decomposition better, and turn the smaller individual piles easier than having one massive pile.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

^^^^and now everyone knows I don't compost -- I just keep filling the sink hole and wait for it to blow one of those days, lollol


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Thanks @walkinthewalk about the caution against garlic. Were you feeding raw, cooked, powdered? I definitely don't want to give them something that will make them worse. As far as I know, neither has ulcers, but I don't want to provoke them either. At the moment, I feed powdered garlic (so cooked and processed) and only sprinkle their feed. Not sure it would make a difference, but I figured it was worth a try.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

sarahfromsc said:


> Setting up a house and a barn has already disrupted the ecosystem, and adding an environment that allows the breeding of thousands of flies doesn't help either, if you think about.
> 
> With that said, why not call the fly predator company (Spaulding?) and ask them questions and discuss your concerns.
> 
> Like @*walkinthewalk* , I live in TN now, however, I do cover my piles with a tarp. I then shove a four foot piece of pvc pipe, with holes drilled through out and then stick a pipe or two into into each pile. Allows rain and air to circulate through each pile. I can control the rate of decomposition better, and turn the smaller individual piles easier than having one massive pile.


I'm open to discussing the fly predators, but having witness invasive plants destroy pastures because people thought they were harmless, I have my reasons for not wanting to bring in a whole new species to the area. It would have to be a species that already lives here. For example, I was thinking of putting up bat boxes. The bats are already here, but providing them with shelter helps encourage them to stay on the property and eat more flies. Also, if I'm going to discuss the environmental impact of introducing a foreign species, it wouldn't be with the company that sells the predators. But I will bring it up with some people I trust and whose opinion I respect. I just struggle with the idea of mail-order bugs. 

As for the rate of decomposition, this is not a permanent pile so I have no desire to be putting pvc piping in it. As I've said before, as soon as the ground firms up, we will be moving it to a permanent composting location away from the house and barn. THAT pile I don't worry about. I just thought that if I could sprinkle something (I think lime is going to be my choice of toppings) right now so we don't have a major population explosion within the next two weeks, it might be wise to do so. We will not be able to move it for at least 2-3 weeks. And that's optimistic. I was out tonight, and noticed that there is still a lot of snow in the compost pile. We would get snow, then I would dump new manure on top of the snow. The snow would get trapped under the manure and bedding (sawdust at that point), and has still not melted. I'm guessing there's a foot or more of snow under the manure. That will have to melt before we can move it since that snow is now compact ice.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Acadianartist said:


> Thanks @walkinthewalk about the caution against garlic. Were you feeding raw, cooked, powdered? I definitely don't want to give them something that will make them worse. As far as I know, neither has ulcers, but I don't want to provoke them either. At the moment, I feed powdered garlic (so cooked and processed) and only sprinkle their feed. Not sure it would make a difference, but I figured it was worth a try.


I fed processed powdered equine garlic from herbs4horses.com.

Don't feed raw garlic as it is the allicin in raw garlic that MIGHT cause anemia. "Might" being the operative. If I remember correctly, from my ancient research, it would take a whole heck of a lot of allicin to cause anemia.

My granddad had a wild garlic patch in his stallions little pasture. Pepper ate the dickens put of that garlic patch without issue. All of his foals were healthy, except for the nutcase and that had to do with the mare's sac not breaking --- which she was never turned in that small pasture.

My current horses eat wild onions when they first came up in the Spring, without issue except I can smell them coming from a mile away, lol. That's why I never got in a twist over feeding processed garlic --- I kept an eye on everyone but never had the "OMG you're going to kill your horses" panic attack that many people have over feeding garlic.

It would be great if it helps with the flies but my only garlic success was in keeping the ticks off them.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

i had used a feed through fly control years ago, It got to spendy with all these horses.i never had a horse get sick from the feed through. Best way I know to reduce the flies,, remove the manure. load it up and take to the local dump.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

stevenson said:


> i had used a feed through fly control years ago, It got to spendy with all these horses.i never had a horse get sick from the feed through. Best way I know to reduce the flies,, remove the manure. load it up and take to the local dump.


See, if you'd read my posts, you'd know the manure pile is temporary and cannot be moved at the moment. Because a) the ground is soaking wet and muddy so a tractor can't get in there, and b) because it's still got a bunch of snow/ice in there. I know, you wouldn't think we'd get flies and snow at the same time, but there it is. I compost my manure, but right now, there is a pile from the winter that is sitting there and is a perfect breeding ground for flies. 

Even if I wanted to give a feed-through, it doesn't do anything for the manure that is already sitting there and will be for another couple of weeks or so. I need something I can apply to the manure pile. Will probably go with lime.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

walkinthewalk said:


> I fed processed powdered equine garlic from herbs4horses.com.
> 
> Don't feed raw garlic as it is the allicin in raw garlic that MIGHT cause anemia. "Might" being the operative. If I remember correctly, from my ancient research, it would take a whole heck of a lot of allicin to cause anemia.
> 
> ...


Thanks walk. That's why I asked - I know you can't feed them raw garlic. The wild garlic and onions stories are pretty amusing though! Why is it horses are so sensitive about some things, but then eat a plant that's supposed to be toxic, and it has zero effect on them! LOL they sure like to keep us guessing. 

The people who sold me Kodak told me they feed their horses sulfur to keep the flies away. They swore it worked great. We did a trail ride in the woods and in a swampy area with a bunch of horses and there were no flies coming at the horses so maybe??? Anyone know anything about using sulfur as a feed through?


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I don't know about sulfur as a feed thru. I do know a lot of trail riders will keep a sock full of sulfur and whap it on the horses legs, before going riding, as it keeps the ticks off.

Sulfur is the base ingredient of MTG. During the height of tick season I wet their tails, below the tail dock, with MTG. I soak the last 6-8" pretty good. What's left on my hands gets rubbed along the crest in the mane.

Can you tell flies are the least of my worries, lollollol

I also rarely use fly spray. I still have part of the same gallon I bought in 2014. I keep the tub fans on timers in the barn and keep hay out for both horses. They know they can come in the barn to escape the flies. It works for me because Joker is IR and Rusty is an easy keeper; sadly the less grass they eat the better. They spent a couple hours in the barn yesterday.

You are too far north, I think, to successfully keep Purple Martins. We are up to eight pair and they do a stellar job of zapping flying insects out of the air. They fly high and my Barn Swallows fly low so they are another reason we don't have as big of an issue as a lot of people --- that and the manure sink hole is waaaaay over in the far pasture

Also, regarding the comment on taking manure to the dump? really? Whose dump takes manure? 

I have lived in four states and none of the area's I've lived in accepted manure of any sort. When I lived Riverside County, California I hired a guy with a tri-axle to come and get the horse manure. I paid him to take it away, he composted it down, bagged it, resold it. That was as close as I have ever come to getting rid of manure. The dumps in my Ag county would have a hard time keeping a straight face, if I ever asked that question.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

walkinthewalk said:


> Also, regarding the comment on taking manure to the dump? really? Whose dump takes manure?
> 
> I have lived in four states and none of the area's I've lived in accepted manure of any sort. When I lived Riverside County, California I hired a guy with a tri-axle to come and get the horse manure. I paid him to take it away, he composted it down, bagged it, resold it. That was as close as I have ever come to getting rid of manure. The dumps in my Ag county would have a hard time keeping a straight face, if I ever asked that question.


I've read about people disposing of manure this way, but always assumed it was done in a situation where the stable is in a more heavily populated/city area. I've seen these types of stables in Europe - no manure piles in sight! However, given that we live on 13 acres and own another 185, and given that we use compost in our garden and in our pasture, it makes no sense for us to pay to have it removed, even if there WAS a service like that around here. 

Not knocking it for others, just saying it's not realistic here. And in the winter, unless we actually took it off the property immediately, it would freeze hard within hours and then become impossible to move. Since there are no flies or odors in winter, everyone just piles it up behind the barn (remember, we have to wade through 4-5 feet of snow to dispose of manure, so hauling it several hundred feet isn't feasible either), and removes it in the spring. Counting down the days (weeks) until we can do that! It doesn't smell though, thankfully. Still no flies buzzing around the barn, but there are bugs in the manure pile.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

walkinthewalk said:


> Also, regarding the comment on taking manure to the dump? really? Whose dump takes manure?
> 
> I have lived in four states and none of the area's I've lived in accepted manure of any sort.


When I lived in Tucson AZ I had to have a roll off container on the property and have it dumped every month. Waste Management LOVED me, $400 a month to get rid of good fertilizer. 

I lived down the street (literally) from Arbico Organics and their various fly control products. Our fly population was very small but when the wind got right.........oh man, did it stink because they fed those wasps on carrion. And some of their fly traps used decaying stuff for bait. But based on how effective all of it was, the stink was worth having no flies. If they ever come up with a rattle snake or cotton mouth wasp, I'm in!


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Yes, growing up on a dairy farm in NE Ohio, there was always a HUGE pile of cow manure right outside the barn door -- right outside the barn door, at the end of winter. And let's not forget the chicken coop - blech. Spring almost wasn't fun, lollol

Boy did that stink when dad took the first few digs into it, to load the manure spreader and spread the fields, lol

I'm not knocking manure dumps either - not at all. IF we had something like that in our county, I would make use of it and leave my sink hole in peace.

I've just never lived anywhere that had a manure dump. It's a great idea for some enterprising family -- we pay to get rid of the stuff and they make a few more dollars selling it, on the other end.


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## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

walkinthewalk said:


> Also, regarding the comment on taking manure to the dump? really? Whose dump takes manure?
> 
> I have lived in four states and none of the area's I've lived in accepted manure of any sort. When I lived Riverside County, California I hired a guy with a tri-axle to come and get the horse manure. I paid him to take it away, he composted it down, bagged it, resold it. That was as close as I have ever come to getting rid of manure. The dumps in my Ag county would have a hard time keeping a straight face, if I ever asked that question.


🙋we did in NM. We had an old 65 Ford pickup that we loaded the manure on when we cleaned stalls and once a week took it to the county dump and shoveled it out. We lived on 10ish acres and raised hay and there was really nothing else we could do with it. We didn't have a manure spreader or a garden so it wouldn't have been used and that was a pretty simple fix.





I'd have to agree with the others. We did a few different things in NM between fumigating, feeding garlic (did nothing for the horses but make them smell like KFC chicken) and fly predators. We did the fly predators a couple years in a row and had virtually no fly issues for the summer those years. I think it would definitely be worth it to talk to the ag extension agent near you and see if they're a feasible solution in your area or if they have other ideas.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Acadianartist said:


> At the risk of sounding paranoid and argumentative, companies that make it have also tested chemicals like glyphosate (used in Roundup, for example) and tell us they're perfectly safe, but I have my reasons for disagreeing with that. In the case of the product you suggest, my concern would be that disrupting the breeding cycle of one insect probably means disrupting the breeding cycle of others as well, potentially leading to the disruption of the entire ecosystem. I JUST want to target the flies in my manure pile. I have other strategies for dealing with flies in the barn, in the yard, or on the horses.
> 
> I do realize there are harmful chemicals in dewormers too. Which is why I do it sparingly. However, the alternative is a sick horse, so that's not desirable. In this case, we're dealing with a nuisance more than a life-threatening situation.



If you were putting the Dimilin on the top of muck heap you'd only be killing the bugs that hang out and breed there so unlikely to upset the entire eco-system any more than you'd upset it by killing flies in your barn/yard.
I use (amongst other things) the sticky pole fly catchers in our barn and must kill hundreds of them so you probably could use something like that or fly traps around your muck heap
The Fly predators the same - I've used them and never noticed that they stray far from where you put them. They're also unlikely to upset any balance. I've never noticed them appearing the following year or increasing in numbers which is probably why they send them to you in staged intervals through the fly season


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

jaydee said:


> If you were putting the Dimilin on the top of muck heap you'd only be killing the bugs that hang out and breed there so unlikely to upset the entire eco-system any more than you'd upset it by killing flies in your barn/yard.
> I use (amongst other things) the sticky pole fly catchers in our barn and must kill hundreds of them so you probably could use something like that or fly traps around your muck heap
> The Fly predators the same - I've used them and never noticed that they stray far from where you put them. They're also unlikely to upset any balance. I've never noticed them appearing the following year or increasing in numbers which is probably why they send them to you in staged intervals through the fly season


Thanks for elaborating on Dimilin and fly predators. Is Dimilin something you can put in your garden? Because that's where my manure ends up eventually. I'll look it up online.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

That's something you'd have to discuss with the tech team from the company who produce it but this is the fact sheet from Cornell
Diflubenzuron




This is another feed through containing the same chemical but I think its cheaper than Simplify because its sold for the Ag market. I would think if you sprinkled it on your muck heap it would have the same effect as feeding it because it works by the active chemical going through the animal 'unchanged' and so remains active in the dung and then kills any flies that go on that dung


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

The dump where I live takes the horse manure. They also take dog poop . There is also a green waste facility, but because we have more than a truck load, they want us to pay to dump the manure because they cannot comprehend that I do not board horses, that I actually Own this many . I also find it odd that a dump would not take horse manure. It would help composting of the trash.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

We have two companies local to us that will come and take your muck heap or leave you a skip to put your muck in and remove and replace as requested. Both process the manure for bagged garden compost. I just keep enough back for our garden.
Have you looked for anything like that in your area Acadian?


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

jaydee said:


> We have two companies local to us that will come and take your muck heap or leave you a skip to put your muck in and remove and replace as requested. Both process the manure for bagged garden compost. I just keep enough back for our garden.
> Have you looked for anything like that in your area Acadian?


haha... the day I'll be paying for someone to remove my manure is the day I win the lottery. And I can assure you, out here in the boondocks where every third property is a farm, no one is going to take it for nothing. We have actually been taking our neighbors' manure for years. Hubby is glad we now have our own manure factories! The plan is to have three piles. Pile # 1 will be complete soon (as soon as we can haul away the stuff behind the barn). Each pile will sit for 3 years, which is about how long it takes to fully compost if you don't do anything to it. Once we get to year 3, we have a fresh pile every year. There's no end of places we can use it on our 200+ acres. 

I'm not looking for ways to get rid of manure. Just a way to decrease the chance of a population explosion behind the barn while the ground dries out a little.


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