Comments on: Pesky biting flies, a natural solution

By: WJYD

WJYD — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:22:52 +0000

NIIIICCEEE!! I LOVE fly predators! I swear by them! All natural and their effectiveness gets better year after year. You'll see improvement each and every year you use them. They are amazing. It's freedom from the pesticides! I always hate putting that stuff on my gelding!

By: jill Wilks

jill Wilks — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:29:04 +0000

Allene Holman, look on the blog for an entry titled "My neice, Kristan rides the Bedford Pace" Select all photos and in the third row you will see a very good picture of the block. Bet you could duplicate it.

By: Ragani

Ragani — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:10:47 +0000

My husband used to breed quarter horses and they used to rub neem oil on the horses, which worked really well. Neem is a tree in India, and it's bitter, and no insects eat its leaves or bark. You can google and find lots of info on the neem oil benefits and uses as a bug repellent.

Best wishes to you and your beautiful horses!

By: Jean Clark

Jean Clark — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:12:09 +0000

Hello Martha,I live in the south and we do battle with all types of insects. Along with the great technique that you are already using, try this to keep flies at bay and away. Just take a few (about 5-6) pennies and place inside of a zip-lock bag. Add water to fill and close. Post on, above, or near entry doorways and exits. Guaranteed to keep flies away!

By: Josh ellingson

Josh ellingson — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:45:32 +0000

Martha, I am a minnesota resident and we always have a major issue with flies and Mosquitos due to the many bodies of water located virtually everywhere! We have locally come up with a solution that is extreamely effective. A solution to rid pesky flies and mosquitos is to use a mint mouthwash such as that of listerine and emptying it into a spray bottle and using anywhere you don't want the pesky buggers to come. This works excellently we even spay it on our dogs and the bugs will leave them alone for well over a week!! This is a safe and healthy effective method that can be used anywhere!! I definitely recomend trying this!!

By: Marie

Marie — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:19:42 +0000

If someone has yet to be convinced about Martha's very large funny bone then these lovely manure pics will surely prove it. Martha, enough already! We get it, we get. Lol!

And looking at those fly masks made me think of one thing: I bet you Lady Gaga will soon be donning one of those contraptions. ;D No, I'm not a fan.

By: Jan Erickson

Jan Erickson — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:51:50 +0000

Hi Martha, Now this is a real learning blog! Thank you for all of this information concerning controlling biting insects that are dangerous to have around your livestock. I have never seen the eye and ear covers your horses and donkeys wear as protection from these pesky insects.What a wonderful thing to do to protect them so they can enjoy the great outdoors during the summer. Betsy sure does a great job of distributing good insects that take care of the bad ones. Cleaning up the manure is not a fun job, but is really necessary. On all farms with livestock there is the good, the bad and the ugly. Thanks for showing us how to control the bad and the ugly so that the good can survive. Your photos are once again the best. Jan

By: Harriett

Harriett — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:59:16 +0000

Beautiful horses Martha. Martha I just had to come here and tell you about this young lady in Mt. Holly Vermont. Her name is Laura and she has a bakery, in which she bakes delicious sugar cookies and cupcakes. This is her website http://www.adozeneggs.com This Lady has a great bake shoppe and she and her husband does a great job with their work ethics and they deal very considerately with their customers. If you could check her out and especially her cupcakes. You will love them. She has even baked cookies for Lisa G. She's and awesome lady and I think you will find a treasure of a personality in her and her husband when you meet her. Thanks Martha for also being an inspiration for me as well. God bless.

By: Wendy Bryan

Wendy Bryan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:03:51 +0000

Hi Martha, just sending my condolences regarding the passing of your dear Mozart. What a beautiful tribute you posted to him.
My sweet cat Lucy died six months ago, aged 17 years and my dear Peggy Sue, aged almost 20 still lives on!
With thanks for you beautiful writing and tribute.
Wendy Bryan,
Victoria, Aust.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:41:03 +0000

Martha, quite a blog! And very interesting! How do you battle mother nature? I think maybe concentrating on a few areas might have been more realistic. Bugs are big. Let me know how the war goes!