Whats A Good Horse Fly Repellent?

Question

I Use Bronco, But The Smell Send's My Hawse Runnin'

Answer 1

I love Repel-X. The main ingredient is... er... drawing a blank, starts with a P though. lol.. sorry! Anyway, we puy the straight concentrate and then dilute it, using less water than they recommend. However, you should switch fly-sprays fairly often. Stupid annoying pests tend to build up an immunity to the brand after awhile. Gotta keep them guessing! I also heard apple cider vinegar works wonders as a mosquito repellant, but your horse will smell like saurkraut so beware!

Answer 2

Chances are if your Bronco repellent is smelling that bad either the experation is up or you aren't deluting it properly. But other good fly repelents are Pharana, War Paint, Catron spray, SWAT, Skin So Soft(which is great if your horse has allergies), and any of the fly sprays by Farnam are great.

Also- by washing your horse with a PH balanced horse shampoo such as Mane N Tail or EZall daily on hot or humid days will cut down on the flies and make your horse more comfortable. Also try fly putting on a fly mask before you spray with your regular fly repellent- Bronco does tend to sting on open wounds and if it gets into their eyes. If that doesn't work- try the wipe on fly repellents. Chances are that if your equines have learned to run from the Bronco they will by habit run from other spray types. The wipe on fly spray comes in all the forms I listed above and all seem to work great.

Answer 3

War paint is a good one if you're leaving them in the field but obviously leaves a mark. I also liked the spot on but they lasted for about 2 years until the flies got used to them.
I used a gel made by a German company and can't recal the name. If i can find it, i'll update with an edit. The gel lasted much longer than most sprays.
Keep in mind that most horses don't like the 'spray' and not necessarily the smell.
If you have the option, the best fly killer i've found is fly predators. You buy the eggs and spread them. The eggs hatch and the predators search out fly eggs and lay their own eggs in them. Then what hatches out is a fly predator instead of a fly. They're harmless to everything except flies. They only work on house, and stable flies not on some of the flies like deer flies.
I get mine here and have used them for the last two years and my fly population is now almost non existant.
http://www.spalding-labs.com/home.php

Answer 4

Pyrethrin is the main active ingredient in fly sprays on the market. There is a very small amount of this in the product, however, and so this is why many sprays don't work well. We buy straight pyrethrin, and dilute it according to the instructions specific to horses on the bottle. You can probably find it at a store like TSC. I find that this works tons better than regular horse fly spray. hope it helps!

Answer 5

Farnham used to make this great spray that lasted for about 2 weeks or until the horse sweated up or rain. It came in a white bottle with a green and black label. I haven't seen it in years, probably because it worked so well they quit making it so they could sell more of the lower quality spray. It was about $18 for a small bottle but well worth it. It smelled great too!

Answer 6

I use a homemade fly spray. It's cheaper, and works better than most store brands. All you need is plain distilled white vinegar, Pine-sol cleaner Lemon fresh (some people use the orange), and water. Mix equal parts of both, and it is a fresh smelling very effective, and low cost fly spray.

Answer 7

There are lots of them for sell by vets, but they are expensive. We use Raid Flying Insect Killer. Works as well as the vets and less expensive. No ill effects.

Answer 8

I have 3 horses, and use 'Skin So Soft.'
It surprising works pretty good! But it does kind of stink too.

Answer 9

hang mexican marigolds around the barn
crush fresh mint and rub it on your horse, you can make sachets with the left over leaves and hang around where the horse is