Many researchers around the world have been curious as to why flies don’t cause zebras as much distress as other animals. There are several theories for this including light polarization, pattern contrast, pattern size and aliasing (misidentified visual signals that effects landing).
Research into these theories carried out by professors from the University of Bristol in 2020 showed that certain patterns, such as black and white checked rugs had less horse fly landings compared to a plain grey rug. This research was expanded on, again by the University of Bristol, and in 2023 an article was published, that supported the hypothesis that checkboard black and white patterns had significantly fewer landings than uniform grey material.
We wanted to develop a fly rug with this research in mind
We designed a selection of patterns that took inspiration from the research, but also remained aesthetically pleasing.
We have carried out our own testing on a selection of print designs, including plain colours, contrasting black and white, colourful prints and a monochrome hexagonal print. The goal for conducting our fly attraction test was to determine which of the fabric prints or colour choices had the lowest number of fly landings. The results of this test would inform design decisions for our fly rug.
Our test method was based on a combination of the methods used by the professors from the University of Bristol and other previous studies that investigated fly landings in cattle.
The Test in Depth
Six fabric choices of identical size and shape were placed in a field (adjacent to horses) where a significant number of horse flies had been reported. The fabric choices were secured onto a plastic box lid and covered in a clear plastic film. The top of the clear plastic was coated with a horse fly attracting trapping glue. ‘Landing zones’ for each print were all of equal size, and care was taken to apply the same amount of fly glue to each fabric choice. The baited ‘landing zones’ were left in place for 6 hours before recording how many flies had landed and therefore become stuck, and the results compared.
The test was repeated on 3 separate occasions so an average could be taken. It was ensured the days had a similar weather conditions; sunny, no precipitation and minimal wind.
The Results of the Fly Rug Attraction Test
The results showed that our monochrome hexagonal design had significantly fewer numbers of landings than plain colours. The randomised Black & White print didn’t perform as well as expected. We would speculate this was due to the large patches of black within this particular design.
Our chosen monochrome hexagonal print had fewer than half the amount of fly landings when compared to other tested prints and colours.
FAQs
Our monochrome hexagonal print had on average 51% fewer landings compared to plain and coloured designs during our in-house fly attraction testing. Read more on the testing here.
Denier is a unit of measurement used to determine the fibre thickness of individual threads or filaments used in the creation of textiles and fabrics. Fabrics with a high denier count tend to be thick and sturdy. Fabrics with a low denier count tend to be sheer, soft, and silky. The weight of our fly rug mesh is 160gsm to make sure the rug is durable, yet lightweight and breathable.
The fly rug has not been specifically tested for aiding sweet itch sufferers, but due to the close weave of the materials a significant level of protection is offered from insect bites.
The fly rug is not showerproof. However, due to the lightness and high breathability of the fabrics the rug dries very quickly.
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