How to Kill Maggots on a Horse Ranch

Maggots can be huge pests on a horse ranch. They consume horse manure, and often can be found in fresh piles of it. Using chemicals to kill them can be harmful to the horses and any plants on the farm, so the best option is to use parasitic nematodes to kill the maggots. Many species of nematode, including the Japanese beetle and the June beetle, eat maggots of other species. You will have to find out what species of maggots you are dealing with in order to find the right parasitic nematode to prey on them.

Things You'll Need

Freeze-dried nematodes
Nematode sprayer
Hose with water hook-up

Instructions

- 1
  Water problem areas with a fine mist to moisten the earth and cool it.
- 2
  Follow the instructions for the freeze-dried nematodes to rehydrate them. Use cool water to rehydrate the proper amount of nematodes that you will need for the affected area of earth. The instructions should tell you how many nematodes to hydrate. Nematodes come in containers of different concentrations and sizes.
- 3
  Prepare the nematode sprayer. Pour the mixture of nematodes and water into the sprayer and hook the sprayer up to the end of your hose.
- 4
  Spray the nematodes into the problem area. Pick a cool time of day to do this. Concentrate on the top of the soil in the affected area and continue to spray until you have used all of the nematode spray.
- 5
  Keep the soil moist for about 21 days so the nematodes can thrive. To see if they have done their job, you can turn the soil after 21 days and look for evidence of dead maggots. The nematodes should die within three weeks, having consumed all the maggots. This could vary depending on the species of nematodes and maggots and how bad the maggot problem was.
- 6
  Retreat the soil, if needed. If the soil dries out before 21 days or temperatures reach above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the nematodes may die. Look at the instructions on your nematode container to learn how to retreat the soil.