fly spray/ gnat control recipes

[4horses]

I was looking at buying fly spray and was wondering what everyone uses as home-made solutions?

Has anyone tried Jeffers citronella oil? Apparently it is a concentrate you can add to your own fly spray

I was also thinking of possibly buying some citronella shampoo. I’m not sure if Citronella would work better than D-Limonone shampoo or would they work equally? This would be for gnats/biting midges. I would try putting it on after riding, when the horses get rinsed off.

Any other suggestions?

I have been using skin so soft but lately it only seems to work about 10 minutes before the gnats are attacking me again.

All bugs are bad right now- ticks, flies, mosquitoes, and gnats.

I typically mix Skin so soft with Pyranha or Repel X, but lately the bugs are bad enough I think something stronger might help. And the deer flies are just about bad enough to carry you away. Any suggestions?

[Simkie]

I’ll add permethrin to fly spray to give it more ooomph. (Either upping the % for typical sprays or adding it for the “all natural” ones.)

Citronella, IIRC, can actually attract biting gnats? It’s lemon eucalyptus you want for that.

Neem can also be useful. Equiderma has it in their formula. It’s a solid at cool temps, but liquid in the heat.

[ASB_Stars]

@Simkie

I’ll add permethrin to fly spray to give it more ooomph. (Either upping the % for typical sprays or adding it for the “all natural” ones.)

Citronella, IIRC, can actually attract biting gnats? It’s lemon eucalyptus you want for that.

Neem can also be useful. Equiderma has it in their formula. It’s a solid at cool temps, but liquid in the heat.

Neem is terrific, but as mentioned it turns solid below 70. Around here, until we get into August it is always below 70 in the morning. I stopped using neem in sprayers for that reason. I bought a bunch of those condiment containers that they use at restaurants for ketchup and the lake. I put my fly spray with the neem oil in those and shake it up and squirt it out onto a mitt and apply it in the morning to the horses that way. Works great!

[Equkelly]

I’ve had really good luck with listerine, apple cider vinegar and touch of dawn dish soap. It works really well for gnats but it’s definitely not for the horses with sensitive skin because of all the alcohol.

[Marla_100]

2 oz. Permectrin II and fill rest of normal fly spray bottle w/ white vinegar.

Works for good part of day, then I re-spray at night to help w/ skeeters. Not as good as Endure but at $70. gallon, it’s cheaper.