Horseflies got their name from the fact that they usually attack horses, pestering them, biting them and sucking their blood. Therefore, these insects are quite dangerous and capable of transferring numerous diseases, some of which may even prove to be deadly.
Humans on the Menu
Unfortunately, horseflies also attack humans, which makes them even more threatening. Therefore, people usually either avoid them or confront these insects once they attack. However, most horseflies are immune to common pesticides and bug sprays. Luckily, one of the most effective ways of getting rid of horseflies is using a specially designed trap.
How to Make Your Own Horsefly Trap?
Capturing and luring horseflies is not an easy task. Namely, they do not follow smells but, rather, follow their sight. Nevertheless, the following method may work.
Take an old stool or a small table and attach a shiny ball onto it, keeping it in the center. By using a longer rope, make the ball swing around, from side to side. This will act as a lure. Then, cover the rope and the inside of the chair or the table with flypaper.
The Effect
When a horsefly gets attracted by the moving ball, it will come near it in order to find food. Once it realizes that there is no food, it will try to fly upwards, getting stuck to the tape. Once you have your pray, all you have to do is to remove the tape and place a new one.
Alternative Methods
You can modify the previous trap by covering the top of the table with a tent-like structure made from a plastic net. The table needs to have a hole in the middle, through which a horsefly will go once it gets attracted by the ball and start to move upwards. Then, it will end up trapped in the net, eventually suffocating.
Alternatively, you can use bug sprays, specially designed in order to kill horseflies. Some of these are Horse Pal and Permethrin 10 concentrate. Yet, this is very risky since the spray may only take the horsefly down temporarily. If you fail to kill it then, it might fly away, potentially exposing you or your horse with the same poison you sprayed onto it.
All in all, you have several different methods to keep these pests away from you. Choose the one that works best for you and deal with these insects before they even get close to you or your animals. Keep in mind that any eradication is best done before the breeding season of the horseflies.
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