Chemical Free Fly Control for Horse Properties

If there is one pest that could be crowned “Kings of Irritation” to our equine friends it would be those ever-present menaces – flies.

Every year millions of dollars are spent by horse owners all over the world on chemical sprays of every kind, both organic and inorganic, to keep those pesky pests off their horses, along with the many hours spent applying said sprays. Even then, not every chemical seems to work on every horse, so the industry has created multiple chemical options to address the issue.

I can always tell a horse owner in a feed store by the smell of fly spray on their clothes. It never really goes away no matter how much you wash your hands. The lingering spray in the air always falls on your clothes or boots so that when you stand next to me in the cash register line at the Co-op I will always be able to smell that sweet smell of fly spray on you. Sorry, but it’s true. So if you want to avoid the cost and hassle of chemical fly controls – as well as detection by discerning fellow horse owners in the check-out line – there are some things you can do to manage flies biologically.

Turn Flies into Prey

Flies, like most other things on this planet, have natural predators. In the world of mammals humans have natural predators in bears (more on that in a future article) and in the insect world flies have natural predators in tiny, biteless, and completely stingless parasitic wasps commonly referred to in the horse world as “fly predators”.

Fly predators kill their prey while the flies are in the developing stages on the ground. The female fly lays her eggs on decomposing organic material, and very soon after the microscopic fly maggot burrows its way into the material and forms a cocoon. The fly predator seeks out her prey and when she sees these cocoons she deposits her eggs inside the cocoon, preventing the adult fly from hatching.

The only drawback to using fly predators is that they have a very short life span and the adult fly lays eggs at a faster rate than the fly predator. This all means you must continually replenish your supply of fly predators as the season progresses.

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Violet-green Swallow

Attract Birds and Bats

Another inexpensive method for controlling flies is to attract other natural predators such as birds and bats. This can be done by providing the targeted predators – specifically the Violet-Green Swallow, the Barn Swallow, and bats – with houses situated in favorable spots around your property.

Violet-Green Swallows need a house because they will not build nests in barn structures like their cousin Barn Swallows. Also unlike their cousin, they do not generally poop below their house, keeping their surroundings cleaner. Violet-Green Swallow houses must have an oval shaped opening rather than round, and should not have a perch in order to prevent predators from attacking their nests. Violet-Green Swallows first appear in early May, lay a brood, then move on by mid-July. However, while the Violet-green Swallow will leave by mid-July, the Barn Swallow may lay a second brood and will hang around until mid-September.

The nice thing about both birds is that they will eat their entire body weight in flies every day. On average, these fellows weigh in around 0.63 ounces while a typical fly weighs 0.0004 ounces – that’s a daily diet for the swallow of 1,575 flies! So, the more swallows you attract, the more flies they can consume.

However, if you want to pull out the big flying guns in this battle, attract bats. They consume 500 to 1,000 flies, mosquitoes and other flying insects…an hour! Since bats typically feed 8 hours a night, that means the average bat will consume from 4,000 to 8,000 flying insects a night. Bat houses can be bought commercially or easily constructed using commercial plans, and should be located also on the south or west side of your structures. They also need a reliable water source nearby…no doubt to wash down all those flies!

Manage Manure

At the same time you can attack flies directly using their natural predators, you can also control fly propagation by controlling the host for all their egg laying – your horse’s manure.

Building and using a compost bin is an essential weapon against parasites and pests on any horse property. It can be as simple as creating a pile and making sure it is covered to building an elaborate, forced air system with a roof and removable cover.

The key to making good compost comes down to three basics – moisture, air and temperature. The manure must always be the moisture of a damp sponge (not wet, but damp) and enough air, either from turning the pile at intervals or using a forced air system, to allow the microbes to do their job at breaking down the organic material in the manure. And the most important factor of the three is temperature. It is important that the internal temperature of the manure pile reach at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit (F) for at least 3 to 15 days depending on how your pile is constructed to kill off all the fly eggs present.  

By using these good, chemical free fly controls you will not only go a long way in reducing exposure to chemicals to yourself and your horse and save time and money in the barn from applying horse spray, but you will also smell a whole lot better in the check-out line.

From Farm to Food Bank

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As you walk into the greenhouse there’s a bustling scene - people are eagerly planting and transplanting everything from peppers to squash, and surrounding them is a sea of plant starts, resting end-to-end on makeshift tables. In the center of it all is Reverend Jim Eichner. Reverend Jim enjoys instructing and educating those around him on the correct way to transplant seedlings, and how the farm operates. While this might seem like another day on the farm, this isn’t just any farm - it’s Food Bank Farm, a fully volunteer-supported endeavor that donated 180,000 pounds of produce last year with the help of more than 1,400 volunteers. 

Food Bank Farm is a ministry of The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Redmond. The farm encompasses ten acres and is located at Chinook Farms, which rents space to the church. Located in the Snohomish River Valley, Chinook Farms is a community-supported farm on Elliott Road in the Cathcart area. Chinook Farms’ specialty is grass-fed beef, hay, and mentoring new farmers. Owners Sharon and Eric Fritch were recently honored as Conservation Leaders of the Year by Snohomish Conservation District (read more about our award winners here).  

Church leaders are working to end hunger in the Pacific Northwest by growing fresh produce for area food banks. Washington is the 23rd hungriest state in the nation and 1 in 5 Washingtonians rely on a local food bank. Food banks have always acted as a vital distributor of food, but getting the freshest produce has always been a challenge. That’s where the idea for Food Bank Farm started. Reverend Eichner wanted to ensure that food banks could be given the first pick, rather than what is left over. 

The 1,500 volunteers that will filter through this year aren’t just parishioners, Food Bank Farm attracts corporate volunteers, seniors, kids, and everyone in between. Each volunteer group is given a task and helps contribute to the bigger picture. While one person or group might be planting squash seeds, another group will continue caring for them throughout the growing season, and yet another group might be responsible for harvesting. Food Bank Farm has a goal to donate a million pounds of produce by 2021. It’s an inspiring place and Jim describes it best, “We have the support of a happy community and it’s just paradise
out here.”

The District’s Lawns to Lettuce Program and Project Harvest will be hosting a harvesting event at Food Bank Farm later this summer. If you’d like to get involved in that event or bring a volunteer group to the farm, visit snocd.org/food-bank-farm.

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Food Bank Farm by the Numbers

• Founded in 2011 with 12 volunteers, and donated 3,750 pounds of fresh vegetables.
• In 2018 they estimate 1,500 volunteers, and they hope to donate 200,000 pounds of fresh vegetables.
• The produce gets delivered to 350 local food banks.
• The cost per pound of food is under $0.04 because of volunteers.

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By Kailyn Wentz, Design & Media Coordinator | From Volume 29: Issue 1 of The Nexus

Putting Manure to Work in Local Gardens

In days past, when one needed fertilizer for a garden or flower beds, they visited the farmer down the road and loaded up! Now, more than likely, it means a trip to a big box store for bags of composted manure trucked in from miles – or states - away. But when you think about the amount of packaging, time and gas required to truck in this resource, it makes sense to try and find more local alternatives. 

When exploring your options, ask around to see if other gardeners you know have a source of composted manure they’re willing to share. Snohomish Conservation District also maintains a list which can be requested by calling our office. The ‘Manure Share List’ includes people looking for manure, and those with too much that are willing to share. Some farmers will load, others are self-load. Bring a friend with a pickup and share a load! Some farms charge a small fee for their manure or to load it, or may have piles only accessible via 4-wheel drive.

You’ve Got It – Now What?

Properly composted manure, allowed to go through 120 to 180 days of hot composting, is best, but you can also get fresh manure and compost it yourself. When using fresh manure, allow it to age (i.e. compost) for six months to avoid any potential problems. Keeping your pile moist, and turning it periodically, will speed up the process. Do not use fresh manure on vegetables, especially root crops, due to the potential of transmitting pathogens. Many people spread the manure in their gardens in the fall and rototill it in spring before planting. Incorporate it to a depth of 6 to 8 inches so you can get the full benefit of the compost. 

Proper use of manure in the garden can help not only supply nutrients, it can also help soil aeration and drainage, which ultimately results in healthier plants. Most manure application is based on nitrogen content and how much is actually available to the plants in the first growing season. However, too much manure can lead to nutrient runoff, excessive vegetative growth and in some cases, salt damage. Salts in fresh manure can be high, especially in poultry manure. Poultry manure is also high in nitrogen and tends to be ‘hot’, which can burn plants. To avoid both salt damage and burning your plants, either compost the manure first or wait 3 to 4 weeks after application to plant the area. Some manure is high in phosphorous as well, so you may want to get a soil test to make sure your phosphorus levels aren’t getting too high.

The Variations of Compost

There are many variations of compost – depending on livestock type, bedding used, etc. - but it’s important to know your sources. Ask the farmer if their animals have been recently de-wormed, or if the hay they feed is treated with an herbicide.  Some crops are more susceptible to residuals such as potatoes, peas, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes. Make sure the manure you haul in is from herbivores (sheep, llamas, goats, cattle, and horses) rather than pigs. (Never use cat, dog, or pig manure in vegetable gardens or compost piles. Parasites that may be in these types of manure are more likely to survive and infect people than those in other types of manure). 

Your composted manure may have bedding mixed in which is fine, it will help improve soil tilth as well. If the compost has not been thoroughly broken down and has a high amount of bedding, it can actually draw nitrogen out of the soil in the composting process, robbing plants of much-needed nitrogen. Horse manure alone has the perfect carbon-nitrogen ratio for composting, although most horse manure is too high in bedding to readily compost. When manure is correctly composted, the finished product is mostly free of odor, flies and some weed seeds, and can be easier to load and haul since it likely has less moisture than fresh manure. The articles in the resource section offer more in-depth information on the use of manure and compost in gardens. 

Share the Love

Did you know that Snohomish Conservation District has a ‘Manure Share’ List? Call 425-335-5634 and ask for one of our farm planners who can email the list to you and offer suggestions on home use of manure. If you have excess manure to share or want to be on the list receive manure, please let us know and we will update our manure share list. 

Real Life Examples

Ready to learn more, take a moment to read about how Cally Ingram Slager and Cadri Curry are helping their gardens thrive with local compost at snocd.org/local-compost-stories.

Additional Resources

• For more information on using manure in the garden, contact your local Extension Master Gardener office or Conservation District. 
• Using Manure in the Home Garden
• Making & Using Horse Manure Compost
• University of Maine: Guidelines for Using Manure on Vegetable Gardens

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By Lois Ruskell, Public Relations Coordinator | From Volume 29: Issue 1 of The Nexus

Community Harvest

Local food production can mean anything from your own backyard garden to a U-Pick Farm stand, or the acres of grain being produced down the road for livestock feed. Keeping food production local helps reduce the energy costs for transportation, enhances the local economy and supports jobs, and can be a means for neighbors to come together for the greater good of the community. 

There are several exciting opportunities to participate in growing or harvesting food, even if you don’t have your own plot of land. Does your town or city have a community garden? Maybe your local senior center has some garden beds you could assist with. If you are getting ready to plant your own garden, think about adding an extra row just to donate to others or give to the food bank. Do you have extra seeds leftover? Why not share with a friend or participate in a local seed exchange.

Gleaning during the summer and fall is another way to not only help your own family, but also to help your community harvest excess crops from willing farmers for those who don’t have access to fresh produce, or who aren’t physically able to harvest their own. Gleaning can be anything from picking up fallen apples in an orchard to hand picking green beans after a mechanical harvester has been through the field. It not only helps the farmer dispose of excess edible food that is too expensive to hand pick, it helps your community by making use of produce that would otherwise go to waste. 

If you don’t need an entire summer’s worth of produce from your own garden, think about sharing with your neighbors or donate to your local food bank. They are always in need of fresh produce to support their clients. Read on for some other ways that you can help ‘share the bounty’!

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SCD’s Lawns to Lettuce

The District’s Lawns to Lettuce program was developed to help teach people how to create and maintain productive gardens, instead of unproductive lawns. We offer workshops and advice for those making the switch. Learn more at snocd.org/lawns-to-lettuce.

Gleaning with Project Harvest

Project Harvest aims to increase access to nutritious food in Snohomish County by connecting local farmers, food banks, and volunteers to get fresh, local produce into the hands of the food insecure. A new partnership has developed over the winter between Snohomish Conservation District’s Lawns to Lettuce program, and Volunteers of America’s, Project Harvest.

Project Harvest and Snohomish Conservation District will be hosting several gleaning events at local farms throughout the summer. Sign up for the mailing list to stay in the loop for upcoming events and workshops snocd.org/gleaning.

Plant (and Harvest) a Row

Did you know that you can donate your surplus fruit and vegetables to your hungry neighbors through your local food banks? We encourage you to think about adding an extra row to donate to others or give to the food bank. Join our new initiative and pledge to grow a little extra food this season for food for those in need. Take our pledge to stay in the loop about food bank donation hours and drop-off instructions, to ensure that every apple and zucchini makes it into a belly! Take our pledge at snocd.org/plant-a-row. 

Your Guide for Fresh & Local Produce

Tilth Alliance’s Puget Sound Fresh Guide is pretty much a one-stop-shop for finding local producers, CSA’s (Consumer-Supported Agriculture) and Farmers Markets. You can also use the app on your phone if you’re traveling or heading to a certain area and you want to stop for strawberries or check out what days markets are held in a new town. Download the app and learn more at pugetsoundfresh.org.

Community Gardens

Community gardens are a great way to give back to the community and they help stock empty food bank shelves. They bring people together with a common goal and help weave community ties in the process. WSU Extension has a Growing Groceries class series that can help you learn the in’s and out’s of gardening. They also have a list of existing community gardens you can volunteer for. 

Check it out at snocd.org/garden-list. If you don’t see your community garden on the list, contact the Snohomish County WSU Extension Office, at (425) 338-2400 for further information.

Looking for Community Garden Funding?

Need help expanding and improving an existing community garden? Apply for a $500 cost-share grant through Snohomish Conservation District’s Lawns to Lettuce program to help your community-based organization grow and flourish. Learn more at snocd.org/funding.

Happy Gardening!

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By Lois Ruskell, Public Relations Coordinator | From Volume 29: Issue 1 of The Nexus