Fly Season is here again

Have any good recommendations for a more natural spray. I am so tired of putting chemicals on my horses.

I use fly predators, I hate putting all the chemicals on my horse to. The fly predators work great for me. I think you can have them on auto shipment, so they are shipped to every every few months.

Fly Control by Spalding Labs

Apple Cider Vinegar is meant to be great at keeping away the flies.

I tried fly predators and they didn't work for me, I have no idea why. I use Naturevet fly spray. It has to be applied every day to be effective, but it works pretty good. I doubt if any natural spray is tremendously effective but this helps better than anything else I've tried, it smells terrifiic and really makes the coat glossy.

If you google it you will find tons of different concoctions you can do yourself at home. Apple Cider Vinegar like Sarah said works well enough, but if added to other fly repellent stuff, like citronella or eucalyptus oil, even strong back tea!(believe or not), it can do the trick. Look it up and find which one suits you best. There are tooons and it's hard to choose lol. :P

There can be lots of reasons.
For starters, they do not instantly make a fly infested place not have flies. If that was the affect you were going for they do not do that.
If you were still using chemical fly sprays you could have been killing off your predators.
If you were using any feed through fly killers that too will kill your predators.
If you have another farm close by that does not use predators, that can make the predators less affective because the neighbors flies can come visit your place.


I personally have had very good luck with fly predators.
I also have a biting fly trap which does a good job at lowering the amount of nasty green heads.

Planting a few marigolds around the barn (if you can) helps with flies, as well as wasps and a few other unwanted critters. If you board then maybe you can suggest it to the barn owner... a few pots outside and near the doorway would also make the place colorful and fresh looking. Just a suggestion. ;) And there is also onions I think... I read somewhere (i think it's onions) that if you leave 2 halves, it keeps the flies out of the barn pretty well, though they are poisonous so it might no be so good.

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup of gentle soap (the more natural the better)

The soap helps the the vinegar mix with the water to delute it to being gentler on the coat. Also the soap can add a little shine :)

I like Eqyss Marigold Spray.

Oh and a good thing to add to the mix is a 1/2 a teaspoon of tea tree oil. My horse didn't like the smell of it at first but you get used to it really quickly. I personally don't mind the smell.