How to Kill Barn Flies

Flies are a normal part of having livestock. Barn flies or horse flies can be much more than a nuisance. They do have a strong bite, known as fly strikes, and will readily bite livestock and humans. Prevention is the best tactic when battling barn flies. Interrupt the life cycle of the barn flies and you will see a noticeable reduction in flies and fly strike on your animals.

Things You'll Need

  • Insecticides
  • Fly parasites
  • Fly paper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Clean the barn daily. It only takes a few hours for flies to find fresh manure and animal droppings and lay their eggs. Removing all manure and leftover food every day will reduce the fly population. The authors of "Horses for Dummies" report that this is the best first step you can take that will control flies and intestinal parasites that can infect the animals.

    • 2

      Use a pyrethrin insecticide made for livestock barns to get a large fly problem under control. Pyrethrin-based insecticides have no lasting residual effects.

    • 3

      Release fly parasites after using any insecticides. Insecticides applied after the release of these parasites will kill these beneficial insects. These parasites are small harmless wasps from the Chalcididae family, which kill the fly pupae. Purchase them from biological control and integrated pest management retailers.

    • 4

      Hang flypaper throughout the barn. These long strands of sticky paper attract and trap only flies and will not harm the parasites that kill the flies.