# Goats and insects...



## dianneS (May 21, 2010)

Do goats get ticks?  I've never seen any on my goats and I was wondering if for some reason ticks aren't attracted to goats?

Also, does anyone do anything for gnats, flies or mosquitos for their goats?  Spray them with bug spray or use traps?

I use fly predators and they work good for flies.  I still have gnats though and a few others.  My goats stomp and flick their tails and scratch themselves now and then, but not terribly.  I feel some times I should do something to make them more comfortable?


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## freemotion (May 21, 2010)

As long as they have a building to go into, they will be fine.  I'd rather they stomp and flick tails rather than soak them with toxins, and myself in the process.  

I used to use those bag-type disposable fly traps and fly tapes with good results.  Then I got chickens and let them free-range throughout my pasture, barn, manure pile, and without my permission, in my yard.  NO MORE FLIES!  It is amazing.  I use no fly management at all now.  There are still gnats and mosquitoes, but the goats can get away from them in the barn.  The way they eat....run out, hoover up as much as possible, then run back in and chew cuds all day.....makes it possible for them to avoid the worst of the flies.  Unlike horses, who need to graze almost all day.

I've seen ticks on rare occasions on my goats, and I've seen the chickens picking them off when the goats lie down to chew cuds.  The hens will actually scratch on the goats.  Some of them love it.


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## dianneS (May 22, 2010)

freemotion said:
			
		

> I've seen ticks on rare occasions on my goats, and I've seen the chickens picking them off when the goats lie down to chew cuds.  The hens will actually scratch on the goats.  Some of them love it.


No kidding!  I bet that my goats would love it if the chickens scratched on them too, but since I have the dog in with the goats the chickens can't go in the goat pasture anymore.

I've been curious about the tick thing, since I've never seen a single tick on my goats, and we have a lot of ticks around here.  A lot of lyme disease too.


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## mossyStone (May 22, 2010)

Our free range chickens and Turkeys get the ticks here, i hate those little buggers! I let my chicken loose in the morning after i gather eggs to range and we haven't had a tick in 3 yrs.. 

we have alot of woods and brush a goat and tick paradise!


Mossy Stone Farm


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## chandasue (May 22, 2010)

I will add my vote for chickens. Guinea hens do wonders on ticks too, so I've heard, even better than the chickens. But they're noiser and just goofy lookin'! LOL


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## freemotion (May 22, 2010)

Guineas are amazing, even cleared all the squash bugs and cucumber beetles from my garden.  I now have a very tenuous hold on my sanity, however, from having them....


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## jlbpooh (May 23, 2010)

We joke that our guineas are the stupidest birds that are still smart enough to eat. They do a wonderful job on the ticks though. We haven't found a tick in 3 years since they have been free-ranging. Before them we would pull 4 or 5 ticks off our dog every day. They are very noisy until they hit a year old, then they quiet down somewhat. We haven't seen a snake in 2 years either. I have read that guineas don't like snakes and will even eat small ones. I have seen them go after mice too. Between them and the chickens, we have very few fire ant mounds as well. We have a couple of Khaki Campbell ducks and just got some muscovy ducklings a few weeks ago. With them, we should have less mosquitos, slugs, and flies. They say that the Muscovies are excellent fly catchers.


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## Lalaith (May 26, 2010)

What???  My chickens are obviously doing it wrong.  When they free-range I have no garden and lots of bugs.  Silly little hens.  ha ha ha


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## lupinfarm (May 26, 2010)

I spray the goats with a water-based "natural" horse fly spray on bad days. We get AWFUL mosquitoes and AWFUL blackfly and seriously the worst horse flies ever. Luna has to be coated in flyspray to get any relief even in a shelter (we do it every other day with her, in between on hot summer days she gets a bucket of cool water dumped on her LOL, she hates it at first but loves it after). 

My poor goaties just get driven mad with bugs, so they have to be sprayed.


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