I am not having any luck with any spray – but I am having good luck with CLAC DEO-GEL. It does keep the flies off.
Our greenheads and B52s have been awful this year.
Keep in mind that I am NOT a chemist, only a lowly librarian who has since switched to pre-mixed Pyranha!
When I used Repel-X, I took the label instructions to mean that it should be mixed fresh prior to use and therefore, only made what I needed for immediate use. YMMV.
After looking at the chemicals listed, why would it need to be mixed fresh?
Sorry, I have no idea. Try calling (800) 234-2269. That’s the number for Farnum, who makes Repel-X. They’re available until 5pm Central Time. 
Thanks! I called them a couple of weeks ago but no one is getting back to me unfortunately.
H’m. I think @Peggy is one of our resident chemists. Perhaps she could shed some light on this. @Peggy I’m sorry to bother you, but have you any idea why Repel-X needs to be mixed up just before use? Thank you for any information you may have.
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I always read that to mean you need to shake it before spraying. Not mix a batch for each use individually. Nobody would bother doing that, would they?
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My reading of the instructions that say “mix fresh solution before each use” would be that you need to do exactly that and make a fresh batch each time. Which, as has been noted, is a lot of bother. On the other hand, you obviously don’t need to do this with the pre-made stuff. So is the note on the concentrate a CYA? Are the ingredients different enough between the two to warrant the note on the concentrate? It’s not especially easy to compare the ingredients: someone with more skin in the game can do this based on the info in the links below, though you’ll be limited by the fact that the ingredient list for the pre-made is woefully inadequate.
Looking quickly at the ingredients for the concentrate, there is nothing that jumps out at me and says “make me fresh each time” but definitely things that say “probably a good idea to shake before use” even though it’s emulsified. Emulsified means there’s stuff in there to keep it from separating into layers. If you mix oil and vinegar (or lemon juice) to make salad dressing you will get two layers that reappear eventually after shaking. Some modern salad dressings have emulsifiers so they don’t separate.
Links
- Repel-x concentrate info page - this is what we’re talking about??? - includes instructions and links to front and back labels
- Repel-x concentrate SDS - gives a bit more info about ingredients, including an indication of what petroleum distillates are, but notes that the exact proportions are proprietary.
- Repel-x pre-made info page - also gives link to instructions and to label, though this label is harder to read than the other.
- Repel-x pre-made MSDS (not as helpful as the SDS for the concentrate).
Safety data sheets (SDS) are the new, improved version of material data safety sheets (MSDS). You can generally find them pretty easily by Googling the combination of SDS (or MSDS) and the name of the product or chemical.
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Hmmm…after checking out the SDS, I did not know that it contains kerosene (30-40%?!) or petroleum distillates. Thanks Peggy for the links.
You’re welcome. SDS documents are useful. When I talk about them as part of lab safety I note that they’re available for commercial products and that they may be able to help a friend or family member who is working with something (cleaning fluid, copier fluid…) that’s giving them a rash or producing other symptoms.
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I used that a million years ago in the south. Maybe I should try it here. Nothing else is working.
EcoVet makes me incredibly sick (can’t breathe, coughing until I choke, etc), even if I am sharing space with another horse/rider (like an indoor). So it might work for bugs but it might kill me first. I don’t blame any horse who doesn’t like it.
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Nothing flyspray-wise is really working for me either. The CLAC Deo-Gel works really well, but only in the areas where you directly apply it. It doesn’t have a buffer zone like fly sprays or ecovet.
That being said, it is the only reason I’ve been able to get any semi-enjoyable trail riding this year. We’ve had an unprecedented wet spring/summer following a very mild winter – the ticks, deerflies, greenheads and B52s are worse this year than they’ve ever been in recent memory.
The REPEL-X does a good job of keeping the ticks off my boy’s legs (it is useless for flies though) – he is on Equispot anyway but I hate the idea of bringing passengers home for the rest of the farm.
Endure is still performing the best for me. It doesn’t do diddly squat for horse/deer flies, but thankfully they aren’t out in squadrons like they were earlier in the spring.
The combo of fly predators, fly traps and fly bait seem to have greatly reduced the general fly population here. Especially the barn!
Spiders on the other hand are out of control.
It’s too dang hot for fly sheets or masks. The horses hide in the barn all day every day trying to escape the heat and bugs. I’m using the roll on Endure under their eyes to try and deter gnats (which are down right AWFUL currently). My younger horse is sure the roll on thing is a horse eater 
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My vet suggested trying this as a “spot on” treatment, in addition to regular fly spray…
I put it on the riding horses today. I guess I’ll let you know how that goes.
For sprays, I alternate between Ecovet, Endure, and I just added into the mix Prozap Ultra based on recommendation from this thread. For ears, bellies, and legs I usually rub on Swat but this year started using BugPellent gel. I actually think Swat is better but a little stickier/messier so not as ideal for the riding horses that get tacked up as for the retired horses who don’t.
At home I also have fly predators (bought enough for 4 hourses on property even though I only have two), they’re being fed the SimpliFly and SP Leg Up Fly reppellent pellets. The boarded horses are also on the SP supplement.
I pick manure 2x/day and spread it. I still have flies at home, even with all of the above. Usually at home, between cleaning so regularly and the fly predators, I have a very minimal amount of flies. Not this year!
It’s brutal this year in NJ.
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For the discussion, I added Farnans Tri Tech 14 to my fly protection this year and I’ve been happy with the results for my horses. It seems to last longer on the horses than the Eco Vet that I’ve been using past few years.
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Looks like Ecovet has some competition!
I ordered a bottle to try. Why not? It’s half the price and appears to work in a similar way. It says it doesn’t smell bad, but I am not holding out much hope. Ecovet says the same thing. And it’s technically true. It’s not so much that Ecovet has an order-- it’s more that when you breathe it is seems to fill your lungs and make you choke.
I had zeeeeero luck with Vectra. Super disappointing, I had high hopes. Fingers crossed it works better for you!
Here’s my best cheap fly repellent. Walmart’s version of vaporub. Really. It works better than swat on bellies, etc. I wouldn’t ever use it around eyes but for anything else? It’s great!
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@beowulf have you tried the CLAC concentrate for a spray? Used to use it in that form too. Wonder if you are seeing results like with the gel…
