Well, it's official. My BO's mother says it is the worst year for flies that she can remember in her 40 years of living on the property and caring for horses.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I am endeavouring to keep a fly mask on Gem and have asked the barn helpers to make sure he has one on when he's turned out. I will further research some of the products suggested (I am particularly curious about the predators). For those of you that indicated interest in Breathe's suggestion of vanilla, I found a very simple recipe on line at www.ehow.com:
Pour one bottle of sugarless vanilla extract in to an empty spray bottle. Take your now empty vanilla bottle and fill it up with water. Pour the water in to the spray bottle and mix by shaking. Spray on your horse's coat. It is important that you do not use vanilla that contains sugar, as this will attract insects.
You can actually include a little bit of Skin So Soft in the mixture if you so desire.
On the same site, I found this recipe:
Pour 16 ounces of vodka in your empty spray bottle. Add 1/2 ounce of citronella oil, 1/4 ounce of lavender oil, 0.15 (3/20) ounces of tea tree oil, and 16 ounces of jojoba oil. Mix well. Spray on the horse, being careful not to get any in the horse's eyes.
Hmmm, would I want my horse to smell like fresh baked goods or a vodka soda??? Well, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be spraying my horse with 16 oz. of vodka - I would be drinking it!!! So, I guess my gentle giant will be smelling like a cupcake shortly. :-)
What was I thinking....?
I'd be too worried that I'd start sipping on Tucker's fly spray if I used the vodka recipe.... But very interesting about the vanilla!
ReplyDeleteI never heard of the vodka one, but there's a first time for everything. Actually, years ago when my husband was building a deck and the mosquitoes were ferocious he used Scotch on his arms and neck and that worked well. I'm afraid he may have run out of Scotch for the next day, and I'm sure all of it didn't go as mosquito repellent. Come to think of it that deck took quite a lot of time to complete.
ReplyDeleteSome people seem to have success with the skin so soft - but I can't stand the smell! Our flies are extra bad this year, and I'm looking into the fly predators for next year too.
ReplyDeleteMarissa - LOL! I am visualizing me sipping out of the spray bottle while my barn mates watch in horror.
ReplyDeleteGHM - I think your husband may be on to something!! I know I couldn't resist having a sip if the bottle was already out... :-)
Kate - I have never smelled SSS, but it seems you either love it or you hate it.
So does it work? I'd rather spend a couple bucks on a bottle of vanilla than $20 on a bottle of noxious chemicals. Plus my quarters would smell all pretty.
ReplyDeleteYou are not going to believe this, Shannon. I have been to two grocery stores and they only carry the vanilla that has sugar. I am going to swing by a health food store tomorrow after work to see if I can pick up some natural vanilla extract there. If you can hang on, I should be able to tell you later in the week!
ReplyDelete