BEVA Guidelines on Sustainable Treatment of Skin Parasites in Horses

These guidelines acknowledge the need for increased awareness regarding the negative environmental impacts that some insecticides used for treating skin parasites such as mites, lice and biting flies in horses can have when prescribing these medications in equine practice.

The three key messages within the guidelines are:

1. Use as little as possible, but as much as necessary, as advised by your veterinary surgeon
2. Avoid contamination of water sources
   1. Avoid washing your horse after application
   2. Mop up any spills with disposable material and dispose in general waste rather than washing down the drain
   3. Do not wash out packaging
   4. Wear disposable gloves and dispose in general waste to limit contamination of waste water from handwashing
3. When using injectable Doramectin (Dectomax) for the treatment of Chorioptic mange, regularly remove faeces from the pasture (at least daily) for at least 10 days after treatment

The guidelines can be found alongside other useful sustainability focused resources on the BEVA website.