Hi, I have a question on biting insects. They are very tiny flying bugs and look sort of like a gnat. My girls are going nuts from them and so am I. My arms have bites all over. The bites look alot like scabies. I have never encountered these before. What can I do? Will anything I use get into the milk? Help these are terrible!!!!! How do you get them? My girls are in a big area with lots of grass and no outside goats have been brought in.I have tried dusting them with diatomaceous earth.Thanks, Cindy

-- Cindy (ourfamilyfarm@msn.com), May 05, 2001

Answers

Hi It sounds like no-see-ums. Are you in the south? I'm in north west Florida and sometimes they can be terrible. Skin so soft half and half with water in a spray bottle works,also if you sprinkle Tide laundry detergent around where they are the worst that seems to work. Daryll

-- Daryll (twincrk@hotmail.com), May 05, 2001.

Cindy, Are you new in the area or have you been there a while and this is a first time for these insects? When we lived in MD we had what were called Buffalo gnats and they would chew up the animals ears. We rubbed motor oil inside the ears. They would fly in front of your face and bite sometimes. Doesn't really sound like yours. Are you near a large river? They breed in the river. Could it be No-See-Ums? They sure can bite but haven't known them to bother animals. Rita

-- Rita in TN (felfoot @twlakes.net), May 05, 2001.

Are they tiny Bot flies? Try wiping down the goats with Apple Cider Vinegar, and putting some in their water, maybe it will help. We use Fly spray we get for the horses, there is some natural stuff at the feed store. Steve said they might be Turkey Flies. Turkey Flies stay in little heavy swarms, tiny little things, and bite. They will make big boo-boo's too. I've never seen em, but my friend in Western Ky said they would get all over her ankles. Eeeewwwwww, making me itch just typing it. Ductomax will keep everything off the goats on the outside, I used it for the goats a couple years ago. I believe I gave them like 1cc under the skin, don't quote me though, Vicki will know for sure.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), May 05, 2001.

Cindy in KY has my answer also. I would inject the girls with 1cc per 110 pounds of Ivomectin 1% (remember this is just a external parasite dosage, will not worm your goats) never used Decotmax before. It is a formulation of Ivomectin though. When you get rid of the parasite on the goat, be it lice, mites etc. they will no longer have the host in which to bother you. I use Bronco Fly spray on my girls, it is pretty benign and smells really good, and is cheap! I spray them on the milkstand before I milk them, I also have a stratigically placed large shop fan which blows on me and the girls when I milk, it is so strong that not even a fly can stay on them. 5% sevin dust would be another alternative. I used the information from the list on spraying my fence-lines with vinegar to rid myself of stinging nettle, it didn't work on the nettle but it did kill the grass and weeds, it also dispersed some fire ant mounds. You may want to try spraying your milkstand, milk room/area and goats with vinegar, even if you do choose to use the Ivermectin. We have all sorts of these no-see-ums out in the woods, keeping the barn really clean and with no bedding, keeps my girls alot cleaner. We also don't have any woods up against the barn, which makes the barn airy and dry, not condusive to most creepy crawlers! Now if I could figure out what is digging golfball size holes near the walls of my barn!!! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 05, 2001.

I hate when they kamikaze into your eye!

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), May 05, 2001.

What is/are scabies?

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), May 05, 2001.

You didn't happen to just move to Maine, did ya? Sounds like the black flies we have up here. Bug season follows mud season up here. Black Flies all day and when they go to sleep at dusk, the mosquitoes come out. Black Fly bites are the oddest things, too. Bleed alot when first bit, but leave little marks that look like you got a rash if you get bit alot in one spot. They love behind the ears and the scalp. Don't itch as long as the mosquitoes, though. The usual skin- so-soft or bug reppelent will do. They don't attack when we're in the shade much. They don't come in the house either. Yup, just one of Maine's four seasons: winter, mud, bug, and fall.

-- Epona (crystalepona2000@yahoo.com), May 06, 2001.

Hi! In Florida, we had those nasty No-see-ums! I found that if you have pennyroyal growing, you can mash up a small hand full and rub on your face, ears and neck, and the little buggers won't come near you!! I also made up a batch of spray with pennyroyal and spritzed it on us, and the goats, worked wonderfully!! Good luck, Sissy Ps. Rosemary and lavender work pretty well also!

-- Sissy Sylvester-Barth (jerreleene@hotmail.com), May 08, 2001.