Management Feature, continued
Mosquito repellents come in several forms. Some ready-to-use sprays are suitable for frequent use, while others are concentrated and must be diluted before use. For legs, faces and wounds, lotions or gels that contain repellents are available. A spot-on gel or lotion that is applied to specific sites and is migrated through the hair coat is longer acting and is effective for pastured horses.
Physical Barriers
Horses can be physically protected from mosquitoes with clothing such as flysheets, face masks, ear nets and leg wraps. While these are effective in preventing mosquito contact, they must also be used cautiously. Remove clothing if the horses become too hot. Also, use caution when turning horses out unsupervised, as the clothing could be caught or tangled up in fencing or bushes and trees. Additional protection can be added by spraying repellents on the clothing.
Natural Predators
Stocking stagnant water with mosquito fish (Gambusia) is another safe and natural way to eliminate mosquitoes. According to Hinkle, these small minnows feed on mosquito larvae, reducing populations. Mosquito fish are very hardy in different temperature conditions and can survive in stagnant water like ditches, lily ponds, and water troughs as long as the area does not dry up. Most ponds already contain fish that feed on larvae and often do not need mosquito fish added.
mosquito fish
Insect-eating birds, like Martins, are also natural predators to mosquitoes. Attract these birds by installing Martin houses around your farm. Martins
will eat mosquitoes along with other insects but are not recommend to be used alone, just as an added benefit to your control program, according to Rutledge-Connelly.
Along with fish and birds, other creatures like frogs can also be an added bonus in your fight against mosquitoes.
Myths
Many myths surround mosquito prevention. Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management in Kissimmee, Florida, reports that while ultraviolet or black light electrocuters do kill thousands of insects, research studies show that in a 24-hour period, only 6.4 percent of insects killed by black light were mosquitoes. According to Hinkle, these traps attract more mosquitoes than they kill. Along the same lines, most flytraps are also ineffective. They typically need a strong attractant factor, and are still effective on a chance encounter basis. Another myth refuted is that bat houses can curb the population of mosquitoes in an area. Unfortunately, studies show that bats are not selective in their eating habits and will eat many types of prey. Mosquitoes tend to be only a small part of their diets in the end.
For more information on WNV and EEE activity and mosquito cases, go to the Florida Medical Entomology Lab’s information system at http://eis.ifas.ufl.edu, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm or the USDA at www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/wnv.
At the time of writing this article, Emily Rhoades is a graduate student at the University of Florida majoring in agricultural communications. She has a bachelor’s of science from the Ohio State University where she was very active in judging and showing horses.
