Herbal/non chemical fly sprays?

[mfglickman]

I usually use an Absorbine or other chemical spray, but was wondering if anyone uses anything less harsh that is at all effective? We are in New England so have many ticks, in addition to flying biting and annoying insects.

I am trying a bottle of equiderma which smells beautiful but seems really thick and greasy - it comes out in a stream rather than a spray, even after I cut it by about 1/3 with water.

Suggestions for chemical sprays actually working this year also welcome, as nothing seems to be keeping the bugs off this summer.

[outerbanks77]

My Equiderma comes out as a spray and doesn’t seem greasy. I wonder if you got a bad bottle? I don’t think it’s super effective, but I bought Absorbine Red last fall hoping it would be more effective for the extra sticky fall flies, and they were honestly about equal, but if ticks were a concern I would probably go with the more industrial stuff.

[Texarkana]

I also don’t have any problems with the Equiderma spray or greasiness. I love their sprayers so much I save them and reuse them for other stuff since they are the only ones that don’t break.

Equiderma is my favorite out of the “natural” sprays. I think it helps with stable flies, gnats, and mosquitoes, not so much with big horse flies or ticks.

[Posting_Trot]

You might try Ecovet. It’s not herbal, but it also doesn’t contain the chemicals that are in most flysprays. I’ve been using it on my horse in western Mass this summer and it seems to work as well as the chemical sprays like UltraShield.

[pompeiii]

I’m trying all the natural sprays since my boys can’t do chemical sprays anymore (burns their skin). So far I like Equiderma but my boys really like the Nature’s Defense (I add skin so soft to it) and Whole Horse Equine fly spray. I alternate between those three. I also use CLAC Deo lotion as well.

[Renn_aissance]

@Posting_Trot

You might try Ecovet. It’s not herbal, but it also doesn’t contain the chemicals that are in most flysprays. I’ve been using it on my horse in western Mass this summer and it seems to work as well as the chemical sprays like UltraShield.

Spray it OUTSIDE THE BARN. It has a very pungent odor that can be very irritating to the lungs.

It does work.

I haven’t had the best luck with Equiderma. I think Clac works reasonably well, though.

[blob99]

I really like Fly Bye and use it on both my horses and myself. It works well, is natural, and smells pretty good as far as fly sprays are concerned.

[Peggy]

Just noting that herbal does not equal non-chemical. Those pesky chemicals are everywhere.

Not all substances isolated from natural sources are safe or non-toxic. And not all substances synthesized in the lab are necessarily hazardous or toxic. The two most toxic substances for humans are the neurotoxins botulinum and tetanospasmin (source - https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/natural-vs-synthetic-chemicals-is-a-gray-matter/). In some cases the choice between isolating a chemical for a commercial product from natural sources versus preparing it in the lab is an economic one. A pure compound derived from natural sources is identical to a pure compound prepared in the lab. Notice that I said pure. There may be an advantage to having a mixture as opposed to a pure compound (maybe the case with the pyrethrins?). Or, impurities present in an isolated or synthesized compounds could present problems.

And chemicals are everywhere. Water is a chemical. Pyrethrins are chemicals. Permethrin is a chemical. Acetylsalicylic acid is a chemical. Cocaine is a chemical.

This completes my Ted talk.