Supplement Hero or Zero: SmartBug-Off Pellets
In this edition of Supplement Hero or Zero I am discussing a product that I have used for a few years, SmartPak’s SmartBug-Off Pellets. I can honestly say it is not necessarily a hero or a zero but falls somewhere in between and that may have more to do with hardiness of the flies we are trying to repel than the effectiveness of the supplement.
We have entered the dog days of summer (or as I like to call it, the fly days of summer, or the I really wish it were cool days of summer) and as the temperatures rise so do the appearance of flies. We fight flies on multiple fronts in our barn (fly predators sprinkled every 4 weeks, feed a feed-thru fly prevention pellet, hang fly traps, spray stalls, keep stalls and turnout pens picked and manure pile empty) but no matter what we still have flies. I truly think that flies will survive a nuclear attack and be all that is left to roam the Earth.
As I have mentioned in the past my horse Shooter is allergic to fly bites so, for years I have used pretty much any means possible to keep him from getting attacked and one of those lines of defense is SmartBug-Off Pellets. These help discourage flies from bothering and biting your horse thru their somewhat smelly (which is the point) combo of Garlic, Apple Cider Vinegar and Brewer’s Yeast as well as provide healthy skin support with the addition of MSM and Omega 3 Fatty Acids. They also contain Diatomaceous Earth to discourage insects from breeding in manure (yuck).
When Shooter was in full time training and I couldn’t be there to constantly spray him with fly spray he stayed on the pellet everyday all spring and summer and I do think it helped him repel flies. My trainer often mentioned that the flies seemed to bother and hang around him less than the other horses who were not on the pellets. That being said he still had fly bites and some flies buzzing around him. Now that Shooter is home and I can monitor the fly situation closely I just use the pellets as needed thru the really fly heavy weeks of the summer when they have pretty much become immune to fly spray. I do think the ingredients pack a powerful punch that helps deter flies but as voracious as flies are there is just not much out there that can totally eliminate them.
I would definitely recommend these to anyone who has a horse who is overly bothered by flies or allergic to fly bites because it can help repel them. That being said they are very smelly and I have two horses in my barn who just won’t eat them. If your horse is a picky eater or suspect of supplement pellets then these may be a hard sell.
