Looking for the most effective natural fly spray at the best price. Thanks.
CLAC Deo Lotion. Hands down the best fly repellent for my sensitive skinned mare. 100% natural ingredients. You’ll have to shop the internet for the best prices, but the bigger bottles of concentrate are usually more cost efficient.
Another vote for CLAC Deo; when you buy the concentrated form and mix it with water at a 1:6 ratio it is very economical. They also make a cream that you can apply to the face to keep flies off and I like it, too.
There was a long, long thread on this last summer --after much discussion and a few people published research studies, the conclusion was that “it depends.” What works well on a white horse in NE might not be effective at all in on a bay horse in TX. Horses are different and fly populations are different. After the COTH dust settled, there was just individual conclusion of what worked best for each person. There was only one small university study done involving 3 different fly sprays and a water control, four horses, over a month of observation. Again, what works for one horse in one location may not be effective against what “bugs” horses some place else. I think you should try different ones and use what works for you. I have used and found Replx to be most effective for my horses. Only problem with it is that all the “natural fly spray” women I ride with who swear by vinegar, skin-so-soft, etc keep borrowing it.
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Foxglove- what you said is the same that amazon reviewers said- the reviews for CLAC were 50-50 mixed, works
in some areas, not in others.
I used to like the Marigold spray- all natural- but be prepared not all people like the smell.
Because I use so much fly spray I’m back to alternating between Endure (not all natural) and homemade Permectrin II
and Vinegar (not natural). Both work well for me though they both have chemicals.
Perhaps I should amend my recommendation on CLAC Deo lotion. First, this fly repellent, along with all the other (commercial and home made recipes I’ve tried) only work for short periods. After a ride or a couple hours in turnout, the flies return en masse. However, with my sensitive skinned mare, CLAC was the only commercial formula that didn’t cause her irritation or scald after a few days of use. It worked a bit longer than the home made potion I used to use, and it is natural, so it was the best combination of effective and safe for MY horse. YMMV 
EVERYTHING has chemicals. All natural flysprays have chemicals. Pyrethrin is “natural.”
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I am only asking because the facility where I board has told people that they cannot use pesticides and it must be a natural fly spray.
What does that even mean? Do they have a list of approved sprays? :-/
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I would ask for a list of approved options. We have our yard and property sprayed with some organic stuff - it’s cedar oil, peppermint, some other stuff. The yard smells for a couple days & it’s extremely effective. So do they want people to mix up this type of thing or is Deo or Espree Aloe ok? I use RepelX, might try the other two and see if they work this year.
For what it’s worth, last year, Equiderma’s Neem & Aloe Horse Spray worked fairly well for my herd.
A friend uses a recipe very similar to this. She buys organic Neem oil through Amazon. I will say I’m not thrilled with how it repeals regular flies, but deer flies & ticks seem to stay away.
https://zatural.com/blogs/blog/neem-oil-fly-spray-recipe-for-horses-cattle-and-other-farm-animals
If they have fly predators, I believe Pyrethins are not supposed to be used. My trainer used Outsmart, which seemed to work well there.
You can use pyrethrin around predators. You just have to be cognizant about where you’re spraying.
I have had good success with Eco Vet fly spray. It is not an insecticide - it is fatty acids. It is more expensive to buy than conventional sprays, but you use less, so I think it evens out.
That said, there are certain times of the year when it appears to stop working for me. At that point I switch to Endure for a while. I’m not sure why that happens but I end up using the Eco Vet for most of the time, and the Endure to fill in the gaps. I figure that is better than conventional repellents every day of the season.
My experiences have been that several natural sprays will work for a few hours, but the horse will need to be resprayed at least halfway through the day, and before and after riding.
I’ve often found that many “unnatural” sprays don’t really last that long either, so I’m not sure that the natural ones are that much worse, particularly if your horse sweats a lot during the day.
One natural spray that I’ve liked is the UltraCruz spray:
I used Eco Vet, too, and will probably buy another bottle to keep on hand this summer. My experience was the results were amazing for about 30 minutes, then it seemed to do nothing. Which isn’t any different than other fly sprays, but I wasn’t sure if it was worth inhaling the caustic fumes two or more times a day. Also, I didn’t love it while riding during “big bomber” season since it didn’t seem to have any effect on them. I do like it for keeping the stable flies away.
“Natural” or “unnatural,” I certainly haven’t found any panacea fly spray. Everything has a temporary effect at best, even the ones labeled for extended protection.
Fly masks, fly boots, fly sheets all offer superior protection, although the latter can be hard to use in extreme humidity.
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Which is why a boarding barn might be wise to just prohibit it.
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Yes, an extreme overreaction that’s likely to drive away boarders is better than a simple rule of “don’t fly spray horses in the stalls.” :rolleyes:
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The Pyranha Zero Bite works ok and the black bottle marigold spray works ok too. The Absorbine natural spray is a total waste of money where I live. The flies laugh at it.
I’d buy a natural bottle, dump it out and fill it with Endure and take comfort that my horse will actually have some protection!
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