Many stable sprays are so toxic that they may make you feel unwell just inhaling them. Many of us just don't want to use chemicals we can't pronounce around our horse's stables, or on the horses themselves. This might lead you to experiment with ways to combat irritating and potentially dangerous biting flies that aren't quite so full of harmful chemicals. Stable sprays can be expensive and are full of nasty ingredients that are ultimately damaging to your horse, you and all the beneficial critters that live around your pastures and stables like frogs, barn swallows and good bugs.

Ideally, we should be encouraging the bug eating animals and insects to help us out. Here are just a few environmentally friendly ideas for reducing the amount of bad bugs and other pests around your horse's home.

Keep in mind that even natural bug control sprays can harm other critters. Some natural sprays will kill good insects, amphibians like frogs and aquatic creatures like fish. Make sure you read the label and follow the directions. The best insect control is to make sure your barn and pastures are as clean as possible. If you don't give the bugs anything to snack on, or anywhere to live, they won't move in. And of course, you don't want them to reproduce, make sure you don't provide friendly breeding grounds.

 

• Manure piles attract flies. Try beneficial insects to control flies around your stable area. Have your manure pile removed frequently.
  
• Clear manure away from paddocks frequently.
  
• Clean stalls frequently. Manure and urine that is left to sit will attract flies. The odor can become unpleasant and ammonia build up can adversely affect air quality in your stable.
  

• Try homemade fly control sprays on your horses. Some people swear by them, although some of them don't seem to work well for very long. Luckily most homemade recipes are cheap to mix up.
  
• Keep your horse on a regular de-worming schedule. Ask your vet about suitable organic alternatives to parasite control and whether these are recommended for use in your specific situation.
  
• For rats and mice consider keeping a barn cat or two. Humane traps can take care of other unwanted critters in your barn. Poisons are a bad idea, because predators such as a pet cat or dog might eat a poisoned rodent and become sick themselves.
  
• Don't feed pests by leaving spilled grain or other feeds on stall floors, or leave feed bins uncovered. Mice and rats can also spoil food by soiling on it. 
  
• Try Bti pucks or granules in ponds and areas of standing water for mosquito control.
  
• Muscovy ducks can help control flies in the barn. These ducks are bug eating machines and will deftly catch flies and other insects. They are also will catch mice, believe it or not.
  
• Refill buckets and troughs regularly so mosquito larvae can't thrive and algae can't grow. Check around the stable for any standing water that can be drained away or emptied.
  
• Keep the grass and weeds around your stable and in your pastures clipped low to discourage ticks. This also helps keep the mosquitoes down.