Horse-Dog-Advice.com Newsletter excerpt
AUGUST 20, 2005

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GETTING RID OF THOSE NASTY MOSQUITOES AND FLIES
 
Hundreds of suggestions for homemade fly repellents for horses.  Trouble is you have to catch all the horses "Every Single Day" to apply them.  So first I will suggest building "Smudges" for any livestock.
 
To create Smudges: Safest to use are full sized 45 gallon "steel" barrels.  Put in old bedding or old wasted hay that is a bit wet.  Top with fresh straw or bedding.  Do not over fill.  Light the Smudges.  Cover with a "heavy" steel grate to prevent horses sticking noses into them and/or a wind coming up and blowing burning material out of the barrels, thus causing grass fires, etc.
 
Place at least 3 Smudges (several feet apart) away from buildings but positioned so the normal breezes in your area blows the smoke away from your house and yard.  The wet old bedding and/or hay will smoke for hours.  Any livestock will quickly learn to stand around the Smudges during the "Peak" flying insect time which is later in the afternoon and early evening.  Such Insects as Mosquitoes won't go near the smoke as they dislike it even more than shade (horses should have shade during Peak Mosquito hours as they are less hassled while standing in shade).
WARNING:  It is up to the person responsible for the Smudges to prevent accidental fire outside the barrels. Please re-read this WARNING!!!
 
Recipes for homemade fly repellents from this website. (We have deleted some recipes for your convenience)
 http://www.stevenshobbyfarm.com/horsecarerecipes.html
 
All Recipes are re-viewed BEFORE posting.
SHF is not to be held responsible in the event of damages to owner or equine!
Use your good judgment~
 
 
  Fly Repellent!

Sent in by T.C. of Missouri!
2 c. water
1 c skin so soft (by Avon)
1 c vinegar
1-2 tsp eucalyptus oil
Mix well in fly sprayer, and have at it.
 
 
 
Horse Fly Repellent
2oz of your favorite fly spray concentrate. Add 10 drops of eucalyptus oil or garlic oil then fill with apple cider vinegar. Flys hate it but I have very sensitive skin and it dose not hurt me or stop my breathing.

P.S. if you go to a health food store and get an apple cider vinegar that has an acid level of 20% acid it really kills the bugs and weeds also feed your equine garlic it fights from insects
Fly Spray Alternative:
Instead of Skin-So-Soft in homemade citronella fly sprays, I use Mineral Oil. It's much cheaper and works just as well.

Instead of using those little spray bottles with the trigger sprayer, try a 1 gallon garden sprayer - the kind you pump up the pressure then hold the trigger and spray away. You don't have to pump until your hand cramps into a ball. The spray wand can easily reach even the tops of taller drafts. And spray-shy horses don't mind the constant spray nearly as much as the pumping sound of the bottle sprayers.
Fly Repellent Recipe:
1/3 cup Listerine mouth wash
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
mix together in a small bowl.pour into a sprayer and spray on your horse. doesn't have a great smell but works for flies and other pests!
Submitted by C. and Calypso
 
Here are two more from good websites.
 
For horse enthusiasts, the summer season brings on an irksome inevitability: flies and other pesky insects. Try creating these sprays, made of natural fly repellents, at home to use on your horse. For each recipe, mix the ingredients together and put in a spray bottle. Use on your horse as needed.

Recipe from Mary Brennan, DVM, author of Complete Holistic Care and Healing for Horses: The Owner's Veterinary Guide to Alternative Methods and Remedies.

1/2 teaspoon oil of myrrh
2 cups water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of citronella oil

Recipe from the Dressage Today staff. (Many of the ingredients can be found at natural food stores.)

2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups cold (prepared) tea, such as sage or chamomile tea
20 drops eucalyptus oil
20 drops citronella oil
10 drops lavender oil
10 drops tea tree oil
10 drops cedar oil
20 drops emulsifier, such as polysorbate 20

Also:  Rubbing the horses down with Static guard sheets for the dryer also works (BOUNCE sheets work the best)  Tucking a couple into your waist band of your pants and shirt pockets also keeps them away from you.