# I'm pretty sure my horse has a wolf worm



## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Yuck!

I noticed a slightly larger than a golf ball in diameter knot on his belly-it sticks up about 1/2 inch. It's hard and has a hole in the middle about the diameter of a pencil. I didn't get under and look in the hole, but felt it. It hasn't lost any hair, though.

What is the treatment for it? Is there anything else it could be that I might not know about?


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## Stonybrook (Sep 22, 2007)

What in the heck is a wolf worm?


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Apparently it's the same as bot fly larva. Maybe wolf worm is the regional name.

Have you ever heard of anyone killing squirrels and them having wolf worms? Just google for pics, it's gross. Dh killed one and it had this big knot and in the opening he could see the worm poking out. They are about the size of a thumb from what I understand...


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Wolf worm is another name for warbles.
Hate those nasty buggers.


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

Around here, I believe they are called screw worms. I don't think they are bot fly larvae, but they are the larvae of some type of fly. I've not heard the term wolf worm - it probably is regional.

I've only seen them in cattle.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Google says bot fly larvae, wolf worms, warbles, and screw worms are the same, lol. Wonder what else they are called...

And how do I get rid of it/them?

ETA: there is conflicting info out there, some say screw worms are bot flies, some say they are different.... I dunno.


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

Bot flies lay their eggs on horses' hairs, but they larvae attach themselves inside the horses' stomachs or intestines (don't remember offhand). They don't burrow into skin.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

TennesseeMama23 said:


> Google says bot fly larvae, wolf worms, warbles, and screw worms are the same, lol. Wonder what else they are called...


Disgusting?


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## NorCalChicks (Dec 7, 2007)

Ed Norman said:


> Disgusting?


I agree with Ed! YUCK! How awful - sure hope you find a quick way to rid your poor baby of this nasty invader. :yuck:


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

TennesseeMama23 said:


> Google says bot fly larvae, wolf worms, warbles, and screw worms are the same, lol. Wonder what else they are called...
> 
> And how do I get rid of it/them?
> 
> ETA: there is conflicting info out there, some say screw worms are bot flies, some say they are different.... I dunno.


Screw worm is a totally different beast. The fly lays the eggs and the larva, the screw worm, eats the flesh in the wound. Millions of dollars are spent every year releasing sterile male flies to keep the screw worm fly deep in Mexico, possibly even further south.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Catron IV spray.. works on all livestock including horses.

http://www.horsehealthusa.com/details/Catron-IV-Spray/26-5.html


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

So if I spray this on the spot will the worm come out? Or will it die in there? This thing is huge and the thought of a dead rotten worm under his skin sounds pretty bad, too.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

I dealt with this before I knew about Catron IV. I ended up using a scalpel the enlarge the opening and then reached in with DHs fishing forcepts and pulling the MONSTER out. I screamed like a little girl. It was UGLY and not what I was expecting. I flushed and flushed the empty bulge with betadine and it closed up on it's own. (after stomping the crud out of the alien)


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

We had a bot fly in a cat that showed up here. It was in his chin. If you watched for a second, you could see his little breather in the hole. It was so extremely gross.

I globbed vaseline on the hole and set there with my tweezers. It took a while but I was eventually able to grab it since it had to reach out to find air. Pulled it out and we all grossed out looking at it and then disposed of it. It was a little grub thing.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Jill, I figure if I read that before lunch on a daily basis, that last 10 pounds would be gone in no time.


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## TennesseeMama23 (May 10, 2006)

Well today, it looks much different. Not hard, the skin is almost flush. The hole is still there but looks dry. We'd been gone the whole weekend and I didn't go out and rub them until Tues, so there were several days it could have gone unnoticed. Wonder if it matured and left?


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## Jcran (Jan 4, 2006)

At good old Cal Poly, we used to see warbles on the dairy cows and the really experienced guys knew exactly when to get the coke bottle and "WHAM", pop it down hard on the bump and the grub would squeeze up into the bottle, EWWWWWWWWW! Soooooooo gross but sooooo ENgrossing at the same time! Our dog got some type of warble from digging into groundsquirrel or rabbit dens. He got it on his side and we thought it was an abscess until we squeezed out a grub; again EWWWWW


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

I've been reading all the sites I don't go to often. Now I wonder why..lol. Gross but interesting all the same. And I would have screamed, then looked it over closely I have the heart of a scientist, and the nervous system of a teen aged girly girl..lol


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## rider (Feb 11, 2003)

the pop bottle method is the most fun and rewarding way to remove it done right the worm pops into the bottle its like suction from the bottle pulls him out its way cool. never forget the first time i showed the folks at vet clinic in denver the montana way to remove these things they all thought it was great have fun


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