How to Get Rid of Fly Eggs on Horses

Bot flies will lay eggs on your horse's legs in late summer. Because the eggs feel itchy, your horse will lick her legs. The eggs pass from the horse's tongue to the stomach lining. Next spring, the eggs will have turned into larvae and will be passed through the horse's stools. Bot larvae rob your horse of nutrients and can even cause stomach ulcers. Remove the eggs from the horse's legs before they are ingested.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bot Block
• Bot Knife
• Equine Weight Tape
• Worming Medicine
• Fly Repellent

1. Keep fly repellent on the horse throughout the summer. In July and August, be sure to apply the repellent to the legs. Don't neglect the fetlocks and pasterns.

2. Remove bot eggs from a horse's legs daily, or anytime you see them. The eggs are small, about 1/16-inch long, and yellow. The first time you see bot eggs, you may think they are weed seeds. But when you try to brush them off, you will discover that they are nearly impossible to remove with your fingertips.

3. Use a bot block to remove bots. A bot block is a rough, porous stone, similar to a pumice stone, that rubs the eggs off the horse's leg. It acts like a coarse scrubber.

4. Sharpen the bot block when it fills up with hair and dirt. Run the edge of the block along a sharp edge, such as a shovel or board. This will clean the edge of the block.

5. Remove bots with a bot knife. The knife has serrated edges and a specially shaped end that can get into those hard-to-reach places on your horse's legs.

6. Scrape the bot eggs off with the bot knife away from where your horse grazes. If the eggs drop onto the grass and the horse eats the grass, he or she will also eat the eggs.

7. Pick bot eggs off with your fingernail if you have no tools handy. This is a slow and tedious method. Most people give up before they have removed all the bot eggs.

8. Worm your horse one month after the last killing frost.

9. Worm your horse again in the spring to catch any late-migrating bot larvae.

10. Select a wormer that kills bots. Many wormers that kill strongyles do not kill bots.

Tips & Warnings

• You must give your horse the correct dose of wormer for the medicine to be effective. Underestimating your horse's weight will cause you to underdose. Overestimating your horse's weight can result in an overdose of wormer. Too much worming medicine is harmful to your horse. Use a specially calibrated equine weight tape, or load your horse into a trailer and have her weighed at the grain store or scrap yard.

Who Can Help Sponsored

[Cazmum]

on 8/28/2008 I use Avon skin so soft dry oil spray on my horse making sure that the lower leg is well sprayed. This year I have only had 2 bot eggs on my horse yet the horse in the next field is covered but does not get sprayed. I can only think that the fine misting of oil on the hair makes is more dificult for the eggs to attach. Worth a go at only £2.50 for a 250ml bottle.

[yonko54]

on 7/31/2008 A recent observation by a rider using "ByeBye DeerFly" - thedeerfly.com -an essential oil deer fly repellent, she noted the bot flies seemed to be reduced in number and very few eggs. Anyone else tried this?
As a deer fly repellent, it had on the package, "In terms of biting, the product performed extremely well. Circling behavior was also reduced."

[Rhiannon27]

on 11/2/2007 I always use a safety razor, the same kind you would use to shave your own legs with. Gently shave down, and the bot eggs come right off. A very safe method especially for horses who can't be trusted to stand still while you weld a bot knife!

on 1/25/2006 Apply a small amount of nail polish remover. When it drys, use a bot knife and scrap the eggs off. Then take some petroleum jelly and wipe it over the area.

on 11/22/2005 When using a bot knife be sure that it does not become rusty! That way if the horse suddenly moves and gets cut there is less chance of infection.