How to Get Rid of Horse Flies

Keep your stable free of annoying horse flies with these easy steps

Co-authored by Chris Parker

Last Updated: June 18, 2024

Horse flies are a common nuisance for horses and cattle. Female horse flies land on livestock and make painful cuts in their skin to draw blood.^{[1]
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Research source} Unfortunately, horse flies are notoriously difficult to control, but you have a few options including physical traps, chemicals and home remedies.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Use Traps to Catch Horse Flies

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1
Invest in a physical trap. Nontoxic physical traps work best in areas with a lot of livestock, people, or important plants. Here are some physical trap options that are effective against horse flies:
- Light traps. The lights on these traps are especially chosen to attract unwanted insects. When the insect lands on the light, it is either trapped on glue cards or zapped and killed instantly.
- Flypaper. This paper contains an adhesive that both attracts and traps house flies and horse flies.
- Flies-be-Gone fly trap. This trap holds fly food in a plastic bag for bait. The fly must enter the bag through a funnel. Once inside the bag, the fly cannot escape.
- Horse Pal fly trap. These large traps have a target specifically designed to attract primarily visual hunters such as horse and deer flies. When the flies approach the target and see that it is not prey, they get trapped in the metal portion of the trap and die from the heat of the sun on the trap.
2
Make your own trap.^{[2]
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Research source}
- Hang the chair or stool from the ceiling of your shed or other place where horse flies congregate.
- Attach a dark colored, medium-sized ball to a rope. Attach the rope to the bottom of the chair or stool so that the ball dangles down.
- Attach Flypaper to the bottom of the chair or stool. Every few hours, start the ball swinging. Because horse flies are attracted to dark color and movement, they will be attracted to the ball.
- When they fly over and see that it is not interesting, they'll fly upwards and get caught on the paper.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Get Rid of Horse Flies with Chemicals

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1
Pick a chemical. Certain chemicals are just about as effective as others. To prevent insect resistance, it's a good idea to rotate different chemicals when you treat the area. Possibilities include:
- Pyrethroids (cypermethrin, fenvalerate, permethrin, resmethrin, tetramethrin, s-bioallethrin, sumithrin);
- Organophosphates (coumaphos, dichlorvos, malathion, tetrachlorvinphos)
- Organochlorines (lindane, methoxychlor)
2
Treat your livestock directly. Always double-check that the chemical you're using is safe to apply directly to livestock. Then:
- Use a small mist blower or a handheld mist sprayer to mist the chemical over your animals.
- If your animals are spooked by the sprayer, then dip a sponge or a mitt in the chemicals and rub the sponge or mitt on your animals.
- Always wear rubber gloves. Never let these chemicals come into contact with your skin.
3
Apply insecticides to areas around your property. Spray resting areas or barns around the eaves, walls, ceiling and rafters.
- Always remove your livestock from the barn before you spray. Some of your animals may have to stay outside for a while. Just follow the directions on the packaging.
- Coarsely spray resting areas with insecticides. Make sure to spray under low pressure.
- Be careful not to contaminate your animals' water and feed buckets. Also, keep the spray off of your farm equipment.
4
Spray a large area that will protect multiple properties. Spraying a big area is efficient; it won't require too much time or labor. However, area sprays tend to have a short-lived effect.
- Use aircraft, loggers, hydraulic sprayer or mist blowers to dispense the chemicals.
- The find chemical droplets will travel to where flies live, killing the insects.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Unverified Home Remedies

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Spray flies with the solution.^{[3]
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Research source} The soap will suffocate the flies without being harmful to the plants and animals on your property.
Mix in gallon jug. Pour into garden sprayer and spray on grass and shrubs. This solution is harmless to plants but repels horseflies, as well as other biting insects.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Prevent Horse Flies and Provide Relief for Animals

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Clean up manure, old bedding and spilled feed, since these are food sources for horse flies. If needed, you can spray your manure pile with insecticide to keep larvae from developing.^{[4]
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Build proper drainage systems and eliminate buckets of standing water. Cover your pool or pond at the peak of horse fly season.
Horse flies can find a suitably moist and cool breeding ground in tall grasses and weeds. Insects sometimes also retreat to shady vegetated areas during hot parts of the day. To avoid this, keep your grasses trimmed and weed on a regular basis, especially along ditches.
A barn, stable or doghouse will give your animals a place to retreat when horse flies are bothering them outdoors. Make sure that windows and doors are screened to prevent horse flies from entering.
The fly population should be minimal at that time, which will prevent horse flies from flocking toward the animals' wounds.

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Will Febreeze kill horse flies?

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No.

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What time of day do horse flies come out?

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Horse flies usually start to increase in activity at noon, and especially during the evening.

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Can I spray vinegar on horses?

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Yes, vinegar is generally safe to spray on horses, but you should mix it in with some other safe ingredients for a better smell.

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Tips

Experts have conflicting opinions about whether chemicals effectively control horse flies. Insecticides sprayed on animals may be ineffective because the flies aren't in contact with the chemicals long enough to experience the effects. Some sprays that contain DEET are marginally effective, but DEET melts plastic and can be unpleasant to use.

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Wear long-sleeved shirts, pants and a cap when you're working around horse flies. You can stick a trap made of sticky cloth tape to your cap to catch flies that hover around your head.

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Carry a fly swatter around with you.

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Warnings

It is not true that horse flies don't bite people. They bite people just as often as mosquitoes do, as well as other animals. Quite regularly in the summer months, especially on certain beaches of the United States and other countries, horse flies become present and target large groups of people. They will try to bite anything moving or emitting carbon dioxide because they know it must be a blood source. If you are bitten, simply wash the wound with soap and water. Press a ball of gauze dabbed in ethyl alcohol on the wound. Keep an eye on the swelling in case it gets worse due to allergy or infection.

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If flies are swarming, stand still. Swatting, waving and running only attracts more flies.

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