# my sheeps are getting et alive by mosquitos, anything I can do?



## patandchickens (Jul 22, 2010)

We live in a real bad mosquito area. Don't talk to me about 'get rid of standing water', 'use mosquito dunks', any of that -- they are not domestically-produced, there is just this great sea of mosquitos that afflicts this whole area.

I was hoping the sheeps would be basically ok, as they are 95% woolly. Unfortunately the other 5% is still stickin' out -- parts of the face, the ears, the personal areas, and in the case of my ram the base of the horn where it is joining into the skin is a particular favorite mosquito watering-spot.

They are being a lot more philosophical than I would be, but are still clearly bothered. Also their eyelids have paled-out considerably just in the past ten days of increased mosquito activity, and while YES I know I need to get a fecal sample over to the vet asap and also learn to do it myself, I am wondering whether blood loss from *mosquitos* may be contributing too.

So is there anything I can do? I am reluctant to use any kind of fly spray on them, b/c I know nothing effective that doesnt' need to be reapplied at least daily and do not want to gunk up their fleeces. Have thought of tying citronella-soaked sachet between the ram's horns  but ya know. Have been spraying garlic spray (reasonably sorta-kinda deterrent, around here) all around the area where they spend their nights, but there is only so much that does.

Is there ANYthing else I can do, or are they just stuck with it til the mosquitos start to taper off in another month or six weeks?

Thanks,

Pat


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 22, 2010)

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it.  I really doubt mosquitoes are making them anemic.     You can try to wipe on fly sprays, but I have never done anything about mosquitoes for the animals.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Jul 22, 2010)

I looked at jefferslivestock.com and searched mosquitos and found the goat anti-fly collars....


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## DonnaBelle (Jul 22, 2010)

Mosquitos HATE garlic.  See if you can make/buy a garlic spray.

Try googling about garlic sprays. 

Maybe so 5% sevin dust on their backs, sides??

DonnaBelle


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## patandchickens (Jul 22, 2010)

I do use garlic spray, but there is a limit to what it achieves and I am leery of spraying it continually ON the sheep as my m-i-l wants the fleeces 

(e.t.a.- hey, I recently harvested this year's garlic and I have the bulbs all hanging in the garage to cure, I could tie one to each of the ram's horns! Like christmas ornaments, or dangly deelyboppers! He could be the first ram in history to have um round dangly things front *and* back! Hee hee hee. Alas the other sheep are polled or, in the case of the wether lamb, only teensy horns yet. LOL)

I dunno Katie, you hear about caribou being weakened and even killed by mosquitos (we are not in that league but this is not your average 'gee there are a lot of mosquitos out tonight' situation either), and kittens and puppies can be killed by anemia from flea bites, and heck, WORMS can anemify [well it SHOULD be a word] or kill goats and sheep, so why not also hordes of mosquitos?

I dunno though, maybe you are right, I just feel sorry for the poor things.

[Also for my (obnoxious, super-late-maturing, egg-stomping, soon-to-be-put-in-freezer) turkey tom who has recently been exiled to nights in the outdoor run so he will quit bugging the broody hen; I'm giving her another week on the eggs and then Gerald is SO going into the freezer, poor thing.]

Pat


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 22, 2010)

patandchickens said:
			
		

> I dunno Katie, you hear about caribou being weakened and even killed by mosquitos (we are not in that league but this is not your average 'gee there are a lot of mosquitos out tonight' situation either), and kittens and puppies can be killed by anemia from flea bites, and heck, WORMS can anemify [well it SHOULD be a word] or kill goats and sheep, so why not also hordes of mosquitos?
> 
> I dunno though, maybe you are right, I just feel sorry for the poor things.
> 
> ...


Well, kittens are teeny, and your sheep are big.  And intestinal worms leave open wounds which bleed more than mosquito bites.  I dunno, we have a ton of mosquitoes here as we're pretty much surrounded by water.  Here, the big concern with mosquitoes is West Nile, not anemia.  I dont know though.  Try the fly spray and see if it works.


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## Beekissed (Jul 22, 2010)

You could try _feeding_ the garlic snapes to the sheep....the skeeters hate the taste of the garlic in their blood.  You can even achieve this by sprinking their feed with garlic powder.  

Over on BYC folks are using vanilla car fresheners to banish flies and I've heard of using vanilla extract to repel skeeters....could you try it and let us know?  Maybe a spray of vanilla extract?  

I tried it to keep the flies off my lambs castration site~they were really bugging him~ and it worked wonders....and he smells like ice cream.....


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## patandchickens (Jul 23, 2010)

Prolly it's 'just me', but I am leery of feeding garlic without study-based information on doseage because I know a couple people who garlicked their horses into clinically-significant anemia (and that *was* following mfr's doseages, btw, of a powdered garlic supplement). If I had a lot more sheep experience maybe I'd say 'oh well it's only for a couple months and I'll keep an eye on them' but I just don't feel like I should do that yet.

Dab of vanilla extract DOES repel our local mosquitoes -- I have used it dabbed on behind my ears etc at night when we were having mosquito problems in the bedroom -- but it evaporates away too fast to be practical for the sheep I think.

I have tried that 'hang vanilla-scented car fresheners thing in the chicken bldg -- it does appear to do some good but of course in a 15x40 bldg really just results in the mosquitoes relocating six feet to the left   BUT, I suppose I could try hanging one from the ram's horns LOL, or tying one into the wool at the back of the skull or something like that. That's a good idea, I think I will try it, it's hard for me to see how it could backfire (unless the sheeps ATE 'em).

I also realized something last night in the middle of the night... my worry about not wanting to get fly sprays on the wool is just SILLY, because the areas with enough real fleece to be handspinnable are BY DEFINITION not the places mosquitos can get to  So the other thing I want to try today is to see if I can corner the sheep and *wipe on* some garlic- or citronella-based spray, just on their foreheads and under the jaw and on the legs and base of Jose's horns. The only thing is, it'd have to be reapplied daily (based on my experience with the horses) and I'm not sure how they'll feel about being caught and wrestled every day. OTOH they might clue in, who knows.

Thanks,

Pat


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 23, 2010)

patandchickens said:
			
		

> I also realized something last night in the middle of the night... my worry about not wanting to get fly sprays on the wool is just SILLY, because the areas with enough real fleece to be handspinnable are BY DEFINITION not the places mosquitos can get to  So the other thing I want to try today is to see if I can corner the sheep and *wipe on* some garlic- or citronella-based spray, just on their foreheads and under the jaw and on the legs and base of Jose's horns. The only thing is, it'd have to be reapplied daily (based on my experience with the horses) and I'm not sure how they'll feel about being caught and wrestled every day. OTOH they might clue in, who knows.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Pat


See post #2.


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## patandchickens (Jul 23, 2010)

Yeah I know, but see, Katie, I am a *horse* person -- for most of my 45 years, fly spray (or wipe) automatically gets put on the WHOLE horse... which in the case of sheep would mean gucking up the fleece.

I am not stupid, just STUPID, you know? LOL

Pat


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 23, 2010)

patandchickens said:
			
		

> Yeah I know, but see, Katie, I am a *horse* person -- for most of my 45 years, fly spray (or wipe) automatically gets put on the WHOLE horse... which in the case of sheep would mean gucking up the fleece.
> 
> I am not stupid, just STUPID, you know? LOL
> 
> Pat


No, I was a horse person too.  Sheep are very different creatures!!   

And I know horse behavior, but when I first started working with cattle I was lost! I had no clue how to read them. It didn't take long to learn luckily.  Now I actually prefer cattle and sheep over horses.


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## glenolam (Jul 23, 2010)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> Now I actually prefer cattle and sheep over horses.


See, that's why I tell my husband NO HORSES!


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## miss_thenorth (Jul 23, 2010)

Pat, you know what you need to get rid of those pesky mosquitos??????





Ducks!    Ust keep them in the same area with your sheeples.


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## lupinfarm (Jul 23, 2010)

I flyspray the goats with Ultrashield. Just get some of the wipes and wipe their faces.. or if you're cheap like me pour out some of your Ultrashield and get a cloth


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## patandchickens (Jul 23, 2010)

Do ducks _seriously_ eat large numbers of mosquitos? Really really? Regular ducks or just muscovies? Would hangin' with the sheepies keep raccoons from eating the ducks?

Pat


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## lupinfarm (Jul 23, 2010)

:/ my ducks don't. they like flies though lol


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## Karma Creek Farm (Jul 24, 2010)

You could try keeping a burn barrel going with a smoky fire. I use to have a smudge fire for the horses when it got too bad and they would circle around it.


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## Beekissed (Jul 24, 2010)

I read an article the other day about how to keep mosquitoes out of the horse barn and they found that installing fans in the windows really did the trick.  

They attached mosquito netting to the front of the fans to see just how many were caught and it was quite significant.  

I know that doesn't help your situation, Pat, but it sure surprised me and the knowledge may come in handy in the future.  

Other than swiping them down with Deep Wood's OFF, I can't offer any more natural solutions.  

Citronella is powerful and won't wash off in the rain but not real affective for the biting insects for very long....tried it on my cow's udder and under parts before.  Maybe the strength of the oils dissipate or degenerate in the sun....I can still smell it pretty strongly but may be not enough to repel the vampires.


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## DonnaBelle (Jul 24, 2010)

I ordered some big hanging fans from Tek Supply for about $130.00 each and put one in the chicken house and one in the goat barn, it has really cut down on the flies and mosquitos.

I got the fans for ventilation and heat control, but they also cut down on bugs for some reason....

DonnaBelle


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