Bugs are beyond annoying for our horses. Insects spread diseases—some of them deadly—and can cause irritating and performance-limiting allergic reactions. Join our host, Michelle Anderson, as she interviews Erika Machtinger, PhD. You'll learn how to protect your horse during this information-packed hour, which covers stable flies, face flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, and more. You'll also hear Dr. Machtinger's advice about selecting and applying the most effective fly sprays and using insect-control methods. Our guest for this episode is Erika Machtinger, PhD.

Dr. Machtinger is a horse owner and an assistant professor of entomology (the study of insects) at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, in University Park. Her research focuses on filth fly control in livestock, poultry, and equine facilities; transmission of zoonotic disease via arthropod vectors; and integrated tick management. Her work is an interdisciplinary combination of population and chemical ecology, behavior studies, parasitoid-host interactions, biological control, molecular biology, toxicology, and wildlife biology. She believes integrated research is necessary to develop novel control methods for disease-spreading insects and agricultural pests as health risks increase from population growth, climate change, and increased pesticide resistance.