Day 1 and I see no difference with Vectra 
I’ve used a disposable medical face mask (one of the blue pleated type) when applying Ecovet and haven’t had any breathing or coughing issues.
That’s an idea. I usually just choke for a minute and then go on with life.
My dumbass would scratch his belly and smear it in his eye. I promise you. He’s special like that 
1 Like
Ecovet - I have not used it, I have heard how horrifying it is to lungs LOL but I have also hear that diluting it 1 part Ecovet to 3-4 parts another fly spray, brings the benefits of the nastiness, without closing up lungs and making horses run backwards.
1 Like
See I have never had luck letting Ecovet get anywhere near something water-based. It’s got fats in it and it immediately separates. Even if you shake it up, the fat is more congealed and the fat clogs the sprayer. For the love of god WHY DON’T THEY SELL ECOVET IN A ROLL ON BOTTLE? WE NEED ECOVET IN A ROLL ON BOTTLE. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.
4 Likes
Can’t you either take a roll on bottle, and put it in there, or put it into a condiment container (the plastic ones with the tips) and squirt it into a mitt?
I looked everywhere for a roll on bottle with a removeable top that wasn’t teeny tiny (i.e. human antipersperant/deoderant sized) and had no luck.
I don’t prefer to apply it with a mitt. I feel like half of it gets left behind on the mitt and that’s a waste. You’re right it’s an option. But by the time I am putting a mitt on, I’ll just spray it and choke
I had a boarder who used my fly spray, and he would not admit that he was actually afraid of the horses. He’d spray from about 4’ away, and waste my fly spray. I did away with the spray bottles in favor of the squirt bottles, and a mitt. He actually did put the fly repellent on the horses with it. He just never got the idea that if they are going to kick you, four feet way is a great place for them to have extended their leg to REALLY get you. You’re generally safer up closer. 
3 Likes
But there are a lot of oil-based sprays too. Dumor Platinum, Pyranha, Ultrashield EX, and others.
I’d heard that you can apply Ecovet sort of like a spot on and have it be effective. Put the nozzle right to their skin and squirt. Elbows, hocks, knees, wither, tailhead and poll.
When it’s not SPRAYED it’s not nearly as toxic.
I’ve never found ecovet to work terribly well, but if it does work for your flies, applying it like this makes it less horrible.
1 Like
For whatever reason if I introduce Ecovet to something else it tends to clog the sprayer. I’ve tried Endure plus Ecovet and had the same issue. Something about mixing makes the Ecovet congeal a bit? Maybe I’ve just been unlucky. I don’t know.
I use Ecovet by itself as directed (spray legs and lower body) but then I spray the rest of them with UltraShield Green. On hot or rainy days I may have to reapply the UltraShield mid-day but it seems to work reasonably well. I’m in MA.
I try to just hold my breath while applying the Ecovet. Otherwise it does generally make me cough. On the other hand, the spray that comes out is softer than most fly sprays, and my newly adopted 27 year old appreciates that. We are working on accepting fly spray and she’s doing well, but she still flinches when I spray her with the UltraShield.
1 Like
Right now, my filly is being driven half mad by flies; her hind hooves are terribly chipped from stomping. I’ve resorted to 98.9% DEET for her belly, chest, and front legs. Otherwise, it’s Pyranha and Ecovet.
She’s had minimal handling so I was thrilled to get Shoo-Fly boots on the fronts. Now to tackle the hinds …
2 Likes
I do this. It’s not working in Maryland.
I’ve also tried Deep Woods Off. It is also not working great in Maryland.
On the other hand, through both of these, my horse has been less abused by bugs than his fieldmates, who really seem to be swarmed. Most of the barn is currently using Equiderma or UltraShield Black.
I use neem oil 50-50 with Swat (which seems to stay on the body longer than neem oil) on the underline and around the sheath, and that appears to help, probably because flies just can’t bite through that gook.
I’ve got Clac and the Curicyn product on order.
And just like that two bottles of fly spray at local Tractor Supply store is $53+ with sales tax.
Pyranha. Crazy. Online source is currently out of stock.
Supplementing with CA Trace Plus does seem to help deter most bugs from landing and biting. Must be the Yea Sacc yeast base. But the cost of Pyranha has gone way up.
Now that this has arrived, I don’t think it’s anything like Ecovet at all. I think it’s just natural oils (geranium) in an oil based solution. I am trying it. It doesn’t seem better/worse than other non-Ecovet fly sprays. But I was wrong, I think, when I said this was similar in style to Ecovet.
It smells lovely and does not cause me to hack up a lung if I breathe it.
1 Like
How is it working? How long does it protect your horse?
No better or worse than anything else. Nothing really seems that effective this year. Ecovet is the best, but even that’s not as good as in prior years.
I reapply everything daily. Even the stuff billed as lasting multiple days.
I mix a natural fly spray with neem oil, and, wait for it- some permethrin for a fly spray that seems to be better than most. The neem is oily and viscous, and you cannot use this mix if it is under 70 degrees, in a sprayer. But summer afternoons work just fine. I have a morning mix, and and evening mix here.
