[Hank the pony]

Fly spray is up to thirty two dollars where I live.... Does anyone know a good DIY fly spray recipe?

 

[QtrBel]

Find an alternate brand. The one we use is that for a gallon of concentrate that lasts most of thd season. Cheaper in the long run than a premixed or DIY mix.

 

[FizAndAztec]

I've heard feeding apple cider vinegar can help deter insects from inside out - I'm yet to try this myself but friends have said it works for them.

 

[Ringo-Slater]

I use on quart of apple cider vinegar 20 drops of tea tree oil 20 drops of peppermint oil 20 drops of basil oil and 20 drops of rosemary oil. This is all you need. I also add a big squirt of spf 50 since my the horse is a light color (paint) and can get sunburned. You can also add citronella oil if Mosquitoes are bad where you are at. Overall this is cheaper for me. I spray it on once a day after horses have been groomed and brush the spray into the coat.The bottle last two weeks on average for a horse and mini pony. This definitely isn’t the most amazing fly spray in the world but it works for me.

Edited with added recipe photo I also don’t use raw acv

 

[gunslinger]

The price of fly spray has gone through the roof. A gallon of Ultra Shield EX is close to $100 a gallon (when you add in the governors part), and a gallon of Endure is higher than that. The active ingredient is Permithrin (for the most part).
Fly spray has been one of my higher expenses of keeping horses, and I often spent well over $600 a year on fly spray.
No more! I now buy a quart of 10% permithrin for around $20 and mix 2.5 ounces with 50/50 pine sol and water in a 32 ounce spray bottle. When I started experimenting with the mixture I added 1/2 ounce of permithrin with 50/50 pine sol and water but at this mix rate I'd have to reapply every day. So I upped it 1/2 at a time until I got the results I wanted at 2.5 ounces of permithrin. At this mix rate is seems to last a week to 10 days before the tails start swirling briskly and the whelps from the bites appear.
My last buy was the 36% permithrin which reduces the cost even more. Haven't started figuring the mix on it yet but I'm guessing it'll be somewhere around an ounce or below per 32 ounces of pine sol and water.

This is pennies on the dollar compared to the top brands.

 

[Ringo-Slater]

The price of fly spray has gone through the roof. A gallon of Ultra Shield EX is close to $100 a gallon (when you add in the governors part), and a gallon of Endure is higher than that. The active ingredient is Permithrin (for the most part).
Fly spray has been one of my higher expenses of keeping horses, and I often spent well over $600 a year on fly spray.
No more! I now buy a quart of 10% permithrin for around $20 and mix 2.5 ounces with 50/50 pine sol and water in a 32 ounce spray bottle. When I started experimenting with the mixture I added 1/2 ounce of permithrin with 50/50 pine sol and water but at this mix rate I'd have to reapply every day. So I upped it 1/2 at a time until I got the results I wanted at 2.5 ounces of permithrin. At this mix rate is seems to last a week to 10 days before the tails start swirling briskly and the whelps from the bites appear.
My last buy was the 36% permethrin which reduces the cost even more. Haven't started figuring the mix on it yet but I'm guessing it'll be somewhere around an ounce or below per 32 ounces of pine sol and water.

This is pennies on the dollar compared to the top brands.

Where do you get the permethrin from is like to try this

 

[gunslinger]

I buy mine at Tractor Supply.
Don't know if links are allowed so mods, it won't hurt my feelings if you need to remove it.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/permithrin?

 

[QtrBel]

Links that you profit from in any way are not allowed. Linking a product from a box store is fine. Now if you linked gunslingersownprivaterecipeflyspray and charged for it then it's a no go.

 

[gunslinger]

Thank you for clarifying this QtrBel.....anyway, as far as fly spray mixing goes, I'm sure there's as many ways to create it as there are chocolate cake recipes. That said, if you'll spend a few minutes and read about Permithrin, it's pretty safe to use for most livestock......don't use it on Cats (in less you've read the book "100 uses for a dead cat").....and keep it away from fish. I also spray the stalls with it and that, along with keeping stalls mucked out and clean really seem to reduce the amount of flys in the barn.......one other thing......don't deposit manure near the barn.......take it at least 100 yards away and scatter it. I have a Newerspreader for this.....the closer the manure, the more the flys.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I've heard feeding apple cider vinegar can help deter insects from inside out - I'm yet to try this myself but friends have said it works for them.

Nope. Fed my mare apple cidersoaked cubes for gut PH. it made no difference. InSoCal bot flies are brutal, I used citorilla oil.

 

[walkinthewalk]

I also spray the stalls with it and that, along with keeping stalls mucked out and clean really seem to reduce the amount of flys in the barn.......one other thing......don't deposit manure near the barn.......take it at least 100 yards away and scatter it.

Ditto ^^^^. We are probably the fortunate few who can dump the manure far away. Mine is clear over in another pasture in a bowl and there aren’t even any flies over there. An old section of the pile is wallpapered with Milk Thistle which feeds wild honey bees, a small population of Swallow Tail Butterflies, some Monarchs, and a pair of Gold Finches occasionally hang out there. So there’s more to a manure pile than composting and flies🤠🤠

What everyone can do is be diligent about cleaning stalls and using something to deter flies. Like Gunslinger, I use the same fly spray on the stall walls as I would use on the horses.

In spite of what the modern day horse folks might think, you can’t beat old fashioned garden lime to sprinkle (SPRINKLE) on the stall floors after a deep cleaning of the pee spots. It kills bacteria, it gets rid of the ammonia odor and I have yet, in my entire lifetime, to see a cow or horse fall sick from using it. We have also always used it on top of a fresh pet grave to keep other animals from digging the spot. Garden lime is still cheap compared to that fancy expensive stall dry stuff that marketeers try to convince horse owners is safer and it works better.

Theres a bee on one of those flowers.

One of the beautiful Swallow Tails who partakes of the Milk Thistle on the old part of the manure pile. The horses graze in this section of pasture every day and aren’t anymore bothered by flies than in other sections.

 

[george the mule]

I do use fly spray every once in awhile, mostly on their legs, but sometimes a general spritz before going out for a ride. We use the Bronco Gold. It is maybe a bit more costly than last year, but not very much; seems like a gallon was like $70 at BigR. More often I use SWAT on sensitive areas; around eyes, inside of ears, sheath, minor cuts and abrasions, and sometimes on Georgies pasterns; the flies seem to really like "Mule", and he will be simply covered with flies while the rest have basically none. The leggings never stop them all. I don't know why this is, but it is what it is, and I just deal with it.
However for the most part I just cover The Boys up with fly sheets, fly masks, and mesh leggings as required. They go on in the morning, and come off at dusk during the peak of the fly season. (Right in the middle of it for us this year.) And I choose the white, or lately the silvery-colored sheets, as they reflect the sun and tend to keep the animals, particularly the Bays, a little bit cooler on a 90+°F day than going naked.
Lots of people will poo-poo this tactic, but it works well for my critters, and that's all I really care about. I will mention that if I'm running late with the turnouts in the morning, they all gather at the gate posturing and complaining about the flies until I get their garments out of the barn. Then they get in line and stand patiently until I get them installed, at which point they go back to their daily routine, the biting, kicking, stomping, and tail-swishing all but over with.
There is no doubt in my mind that they truly appreciate their turn-outs, and I'm happy to oblige.
We live in an "Equestrian" community, and at least half of the properties have horses in their yards. I have noticed that recently probably 50% of them are wearing fly sheets as well, just FWIW.
Oh: the Weatherbeeta sheets, and Cashel masks and leggings seem to be the ones that survive the longest; I will generally get a couple seasons out of a Weatherbeeta turnout; masks and leggings are more variable; sometimes they will go a whole season, more often not.
Cute fotos from several years ago: The Mare Mandolin "testing" her newly repaired fly-sheet. (look close at the second foto) "Yep; it'sa good'n."

 

[walkinthewalk]

@george the mule , lol. I think seeing a horse roll with pleasure is right up there in cuteness with kittens and new born calves🥰🥰