{"id":7412,"date":"2013-06-27T19:29:05","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T19:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gs90.inmotionhosting.com\/~ntalkh5\/?p=7412"},"modified":"2025-08-08T22:21:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T22:21:24","slug":"homemade-fly-spray-for-horses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/?p=7412","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Fly Spray for Horses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ingredients\"<\/a> \"P1040957\"<\/a> \"P1040951\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Flies pose problems for animals and people during summer months. Johnn<\/a> eliminates flies in the barn starting in April by using a product called Fly Predators. Basically, the tiny insects feed on flies and fly larvae. Since the Fly Predators have a 30 day lifespan, each month Johnn adds new insects to replenish the ones which died. The system works really well. There are never more than one or two flies in the barn; however, in the pasture or trail riding it\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n

To discourage flies from alighting on Pepper<\/a> or CJ<\/a> while riding, I used fly spray. Not a fan of toxic chemicals or insecticides, I decided to make my own fly spray when Connie suggested a homemade recipe given to her by her vet Robin<\/a>. The ingredients were simple: water, vinegar and a little soap. I read that flies don\u2019t like peppermint and added some to the mixture. The peppermint gave the fly spray a fresh, pleasant smell. <\/p>\n

The summer days turned hot and sticky with temperatures in the 80\u2019s and 90\u2019s, I began braiding the horse\u2019s manes. First I covered the mane with fly spray, until the hair was wet, and then I began to braid. The braids helped cool the horse and held the fly spray besides looking nice. As I braided, I noticed Pepper and CJ relaxed, nodding off to sleep with eyes half closed. To my surprise, they loved having their manes braided!<\/p>\n

The fly spray made the horse\u2019s coat shiny. At the end of the ride when I gave the horse a bath, the spray acted as a cleaning agent. All I did was spray water on the horse and brush. I found the homemade fly spray worked as well as commercial pesticides; nothing worked on the big horse and deer flies. For the big, bad flies<\/a> I carried my little net to catch and squash.<\/p>\n

The Northern New Mexico Horsemen\u2019s Association\u2019s website<\/a> lists several other recipes for homemade fly spray. I have listed a few homemade recipes below:<\/p>\n

Fly Repellent 1:
\n18 oz white vinegar
\n 2 oz water
\n 2 Tbsp dish washing soap.
\n *(I added) 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
\nMix in a 20 oz spray bottle and shake gently. You may add water to dilute. Spray liberally on your horse.<\/p>\n

Fly Repellent 2:
\n2 cups mineral oil
\n\u00bd cup lemon juice
\n2 tsp. Citronella oil
\n2 teaspoon eucalyptus oil
\nCombine ingredients and use in spray bottle.<\/p>\n

Fly Repellent 3:
\n1 cup vinegar
\n1 cup baby oil
\n1\/4 cup original Pinesol
\n1 tbs dish soap
\n1 tbs Skin So Soft
\n1 cup water
\nCombine ingredients and use in spray bottle.<\/p>\n

Internal Fly Repellents:<\/strong> Add \u00bc cup of apple cider vinegar to your horses grain or mix 1 \u00bd cups white vinegar for every 75 gallons of water in your horses water tub. Start one of these procedures about a week before fly season begins and continue throughout the season. <\/p>\n

For my fly spray, I used a discount dishwashing soap which worked fine. Many people on-line recommend Dawn. I have not tried but heard that the following oils help repel insects: Tansy, peppermint, lemongrass, lemon, cedarwood, thyme, lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus, and cloves. The other two ingredients which people swear by are Citronella oil and Avon\u2019s Skin So Soft. Although, I don\u2019t have firsthand experience with these ingredients, if you\u2019re adventuresome, they\u2019re worth a try. I’m sure there are many other formulas for homemade fly control. If you have a good one please leave a comment; that way we will spread the word and control the pests. Happy trails and stay safe.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/davesgarden.com\/community\/forums\/t\/706667\/; http:\/\/www.experience-essential-oils.com\/homemade-fly-spray.html; http:\/\/www.nnmha.com\/FlySpray.html<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2013 Patricia Miran All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flies pose problems for animals and people during summer months. Pepper or Robin. The ingredients were simple: water, vinegar and a little soap. I read that flies don\u2019t like peppermint and added some to the mixture. The peppermint gave the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[471,473,472,470],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7412"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7412"}],"version-history":[{"count":74,"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7484,"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7412\/revisions\/7484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2talkhorses.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}