# Homemade Fly Spray



## clumsychelsea (Jul 9, 2014)

Personally use white vinegar, water and dish liquid. Easy and cheap.

Not much to say about specific amounts. I fill my spray bottle halfway with water, add almost the same amount of vinegar, then enough dish liquid that it doesn't smell TOO much like a plate of fries, but not enough that my bottle is just soapy suds.

Works well for me! Vinegar is great for keeping flies off. I just like this recipe because it takes 30 seconds to make and I can buy all the ingredients at the grocery store for cheap.


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## jesspatton (Jul 28, 2014)

*RE: Fly Spray*

My farrier actually told me a handful of catnip in boiling water makes a great fly spray but I don't personally want to try that. I also bought some peppermint oil and put it in my fly spray (Cheap stuff you just mix with water) and I love the smell and it works great for me, even on trail.


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

I have done 1/3 third apple cider vinegar to 2/3 water with pretty good luck. The apple cider vinegar doesn't stink so bad to me, but I haven't considered adding a few drops of peppermint oil...I have some to keep the spiders out of my house, maybe I should add it to the fly spray...good idea jesspatton!

Hope this helps!


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## kimberlyrae1993 (Mar 20, 2013)

I'll have to try some of these my mare is always torn up from flys and such and fly spray gets down right expensive when your applying everyday for the Florida rain to wash it away.. any one else have any suggestions.
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## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

THere's a thread on here from a couple months ago about garlic and apple cider vinegar with a recipe. Sounded like it worked really well. Maybe do a search on garlic and cider and see if it comes up!

ETA: I found it: http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/homemade-fly-spray-394930/


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

An 8 ounce bottle of permethrin concentrate costs under $10. I dilute it per directions. An 8 oz. bottle mixes up 50 gallons. I just mix 1 quart at a time. I also add a little bit of Avon skin so soft bath oil. A couple spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar. A few drops of herbal flea shampoo for dogs.

The herbal flea shampoo is loaded with mints and citronella oil. I had it hanging around. Doesn't work that great on dog fleas. Helps the fly spray work better immensely. Smells nice. Reasoning behind it was a lot of pesticides call for adding a surfactant to make it work better. Soap is a surfactant.

The spray seems to work for a full day or two. There isn't a spray out there that works as long as advertised in country areas. Maybe in the suburbs where there is some insect control going on but not out here. I've tried. Look at the ingredients in the ones that do work. What do you see? Permethrin, mint oils, citronella oils...Mix your own.

The permethrin is the only genuine poison so follow directions with that. The rest of the mix is just experimenting with what works in your area. The spray didn't work so great on the big horseflies until I added those couple drops of soap. My guess is the hair gets tasting bad for them. They tend to land, wait a moment and slash. Just a little bit at a time because too much vinegar or too much soap and it could be irritating. The herbal flea soap wasn't even a good fancy brand. It was something I grabbed in walmart once.

I bought the bottle at the beginning of fly season here, mid May for me. I spray 3 horses nearly daily and spray just before I ride or trim feet too. I still have half the bottle of permethrin left. The avon SSS I buy when they do their half price sales. It's only like a cap per qt so it lasts a long time. Mix it too oily and it gunks up the spray bottle and it quits working.

That's about as specific as I can get.


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

I came across this recipe earlier this year, as may catch flack for it but did a lot of research and spot testing before using it on them. My flies are almost non existent now. 
I cup pine oil- old style original pine oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
A squirt of pomegranate dawn - bc that's the flavor I had
A measured amount of permethrin for a quart
Water to fill. 
Now, the pine oil made me research. But, it's a natural oil, much safer than man made chemicals. Also, all cannon crud the boy had has cleared up. I cannot use skin so soft on my black mare and premade fly sprays make me so sick that fluid builds in my lungs and I get deathly ill. I don't have these issues with this. 
I also put cedar shavings under my troughs (which hang on the wall) where the horses aren't in them but they are there, that's all I changed this year and the flies are so much better.
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## RedHorseRidge (Nov 3, 2012)

I used a recipe of 1/3 white vinegar, 1/3 water, 1/3 Avon SSS with 1-2T of eucalyptus oil until I found out the vinegar actually attracts gnats, which are a huge problem around here (and the main culprit in sweet itch). I do like Flicks and DeoLotion, but I have found commercial sprays (really like Pyranha) work the best and the longest.


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## KodasSlvrWings (Feb 5, 2014)

I use just equal parts white vinegar and water and then just enough drops of eucalyptus essential oil that it doesn't reek of vinegar. It works far better than any commercial fly spray I have ever purchased and since I have been using it I have not found one tick on my horse or any of the other horses that use it at the barn.

Do be careful when feeding horses garlic though. It makes animals anemic!


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## Westernpleasurelover (Aug 18, 2014)

I've found that they work except they never seemed to last as long


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## budley95 (Aug 15, 2014)

I use 500ml of cool mint mouthwash and a few drops of citronella oil. Works an absolute treat! I pay 99p for the mouthwash and it was £4.99 for my 10ml of citronella oil, so it prob costs me a little £1.10 for each bottle and my boy doesn't get pestered at all - tack shop brought stuff is a bit rubbish on him!


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## llizzylou42 (Aug 8, 2014)

I have started making my own... Other than not being sweat resistant..... This is the best fly spray I've ever used. Once I figure out how to make it sweat/water resistant... I'll let you know once I do. It does smell like vinegar, it just doesn't both me. 

2 cups apple cider vinegar (white would work apple cider just smells better)
2 cups water
1 cup cheap fly spray (I use Farnam Bronco e Equine Fly Spray Plus - 1 Gal. - Mills Fleet Farm )


The total cost for 5 gallons of fly spray $27.15
1 gal Farnam Bronco E Equine fly spray - $19.49 at Fleet Farm
2 gal apple cider vinegar - $3.83 each at my local Walmart
2 gal water - free


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## QuarterHorseGirl12 (Apr 30, 2014)

Sorry, can't help much with specifics, because I buy mine, but my summer camp uses apple cider vinegar, mixed with something; water, I'm pretty sure. It works really well in a hot, humid, fly-filled climate.


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## ManeEquinessence (Feb 11, 2014)

I'm working on an all natural version of this, but this has worked amazingly!:

Almost half a normal spray bottle filled with pine sol
1 ml of permethrin
2 ml apple cider vinegar
Water 

Sounds dangerous for the skin, but I have had zero issues with even my sensitive guy. Keeps the bugs from evening landing on them!


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

clumsychelsea said:


> Personally use white vinegar, water and dish liquid. Easy and cheap.
> 
> Not much to say about specific amounts. I fill my spray bottle halfway with water, add almost the same amount of vinegar, then enough dish liquid that it doesn't smell TOO much like a plate of fries, but not enough that my bottle is just soapy suds.
> 
> Works well for me! Vinegar is great for keeping flies off. I just like this recipe because it takes 30 seconds to make and I can buy all the ingredients at the grocery store for cheap.


This is almost the same organic recipe I use for killing weeds! Just reduce the water to 1/4 rather than a half. ;-)


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## Samson5261 (Jul 25, 2013)

The one I make is:
2 cups apple cidar vinegar
2 cups chamomile tea
10 drops tea tree oil
10 drops cedar oil
20 drops eucalyptus oil
20 drops citronella oil
5 drops dawn dish soap
This makes 16oz I make it by the gallon just multiply by 4. I get the oils at a health food store and they are the most expensive part but the bottles last awhile. I just ran out after almost a year. This is with two horses spraying everyday. The rest I just get at the grocery store. I have to buy these more often. I find this works really well an I even spray it on myself. It doesn't smell the greatest but I don't mind! I find the more its used on the horses the better it works!
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