So, I have a quandary…Ecovet flyspray is the only thing that is working for my wildly allergic horse (he was a bloody mess last year due to noseeums and sweet itch). But, it caused the worst asthma attack my husband has had in years…or we think that it was the trigger. But the asthma attack was hours after his exposure. Would this have been possible? DH was mildly exposed at around 5pm, coughed a bit, and then at about 10pm, after a shower, had a significant attack. Is the Ecovet the likely culprit? Or should we be looking elsewhere?
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We had one rider in our barn who always had asthmatic symptoms if people used EcoVet. That said, it was an immediate reaction, not hours later. I’d check with his GP, ENT or consult with a pulmonary specialist about the possibility.
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i have hard to control asthma and some times a reaction is hours later and very scary.
I have reacted to Adams products and try to stay away from those.
Our vet sells them and they are at his clinic and I use the rescue inhaler before I go in there, that helps.
Not familiar with Ecovet fly spray.
Maybe wear a mask and use inhaler liberally around the barn, if you can’t get others not to use that brand, especially since it helps that one horse so much?
This is a review of this product on Chewy:
—"Not your average fly spray!
This is NOT your average a pesticide based fly spray. This is nature based fly repellent. The ingredients in this product are probably some you have never read before on a bottle of fly spray. Instead of using pesticides, this product uses naturally occurring fatty acids made by animals and humans that messes with flies chemical cues to locate us. To flies it makes your horse appear to have an invisibility cloak. This stuff is extremely effective and lasts way longer than a traditional water/pesticide based fly spray and it even beats out oil/pesticide based fly sprays. Now that being said overall - 5 stars. In the pleasant smelling category more like a 1.5 stars. Once you get used to it it’s not so bad; but get a good blast of this in your face and you’re gona be hacking for a minute. It’s not that it smells “bad” (like garbage or sewage) but it’s good at taking your breath away and blocking out you sense of smell for a bit. Once you try it you’ll understand the sensation and you can understand why it’s so good and messing with flies chemical cues! I recommend this for its duration of effectiveness, overall effectiveness and the fact that it’s not a pesticide. A great addition to a more natural horse care routine.Less
Reviewed on chewy.com"—
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I also agree that it could cause an asthmatic reaction later on. That stuff is so potent - even I have a hard time with it and I don’t have asthma.
The easiest (not that anything is ever easy with horses and flies) thing may be to try to find an alternative. I really like EcoVet but recently found that the Spalding Labs fly spray - which is also an all natural spray - to be even more effective than EcoVet. I also have a very sensitive horse and it makes a huge difference for her.
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Not typical but yes, possible.
I have several friends who use 1/4-1/3 Ecovet mixed with another spray, and have avoided all the ickiness of it while keeping the usefulness.
I also seem to recall they made a recent formula change to help deal with that, but don’t hold me to that.
A few years ago, someone here posted how they use eco vet more as a … spot on? type product. Instead of misting over the horse, put the nozzle right up to the skin and spray at a few key locations (like behind elbows, at stifles, chest, etc.)
You get the Ecovet effect without the bio hazard cloud.
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I never spray that stuff. I spray a cloth, holding it cupped around the nozzle to eliminate anything airborne, and then dab it on. Stuff makes both me and my horse cough. But nothing is as good or as long lasting, except Swat, the ointment, which I put in the ears, along the midline, and under the jaw, where the midges bite the worst.
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It triggers my migraines. I own a barn and remind everyone not to buy it (at least not for the fly spray they leave out for me to apply).
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It is vile, repulsive, choking stuff. I will only use it if standing in a good breeze, applying in a “downwind” way and keeping it away from my and my horse’s head. I don’t find it worth it unless you can apply it with zero inhalation or contact with eyes, nose, or mouth.
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The Eco Safe Ultra Shield Green by Absorbine bothers me way more than Eco-Vet. With Eco-Vet at least the odor seems to dissipate fairly quickly. The Ultra Shield Green makes the barn smell like cheap aftershave, but I keep it for one horse who finds Eco-vet offensive.
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I wouldn’t say I have an asthmatic reaction to it but it makes my breathing feel weird/ off if I use it full force and breath it in. I don’t seem to have an issue if I add a small amount of Eco-Vet to another fly spray though
I used Ecovet one season and when I applied it I always wore a face mask. (This was during COVID so I had a ready supply of masks). My BO wears a face mask whenever she applies any fly spray because they all trigger an allergic response in her, and she found the Ecovet just as problematic (for her) as other, chemical-based sprays.
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Thank you for all the replies! I’d love to use something else, but…last year we tried Swat, Ultrashield, RepelX, Bronco, the various spot applicants, you name it we tried it. The horse was a bloody mess till fall. So far Ecovet is working for the horse; dangerous for my husband. Mercifully, the smell on me doesn’t bother him. So, carefully putting it on an applicator and a mask for DH if he is around.
I will try the Spalding labs one, that one we didn’t try last year.
I know, that sounds kind of cold… I’m just glad to hear other comments that it was possible because an out of the blue serious asthma attack is scary if there is no possible trigger to consider. (They are scary even with a known trigger) Frankly, the stuff is so ‘sticky’ so I can see how it could trigger asthma. Yes, we do have a doctor’s visit scheduled anyway!
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Just being around a horse that has been sprayed bothers me. Like. I absolutely cannot share an indoor arena with a Horse recently sprayed with it. One horse at my barn in one of the paddocks probably 30 feet or more away from the perimeter of the outdoor arena must have been wearing it last week because I had issues going down the rail on that side of the ring. The aroma and whatever else seems to hang around like PigPen’s cloud of toxicity. It will make me cough until I choke.
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There was one fly spray (BugPellent) I used that gave my friend’s mare a nose bleed every time. I had to stop using it even though it worked pretty well.
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Could I suggest Smartpak’s Out Smart fly spray? We live in South Georgia swamp land where the mosquitos can pick you up and carry you away and it works! Likewise, we have gnats so thick from now until October, you have to blow them away from your mouth while you are talking. So, I am a big fan of the Out Smart.
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