Citronella in fly sprays: Good or Bad?

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Helli.c

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Been looking for fly sprays ready for summer but still don't really understand the difference between sprays with/without citronella, is it good or bad for horses and does it improve quality of the product? Also, which fly sprays do you think work the best because I have used a few now amd some really don't have any effect. :confused:
 
I don't think any actually work that well! IME you can cover the horse in fly spray but as soon as you put them in the field they roll and are covered in dust, which is probably more effective than the spray anyway. If you cover them in it then ride, as soon as the horse sweats a bit they are covered in flies.

Best of a bad bunch (IME) is the NAF Deet Power one, super strong and seems to last for a good half an hour...
 
I use a pour on treatment (designed for cows, checked with vet prior to use and she rang the chemist to check was safe). You pour on the horses back, leave on for 24 hours before grooming, then I got 4 weeks fly free before needing to treat again.

There are different types so do check you use on suitable for horses if you try one. Note - do not use on collies, shut them away when using, it will kill them.
 
I use a concoction of cold tea with a bit of vinegar and drops of citronella, lavender and tea tree, it works as well as any other fly spray (apart from deet!) and you can pretty much douse them in it. Citronella can be quite irritating for some skins though.

I find most fly sprays are sweated off so quickly when its hot.
 
Citronella is the active ingredient - have a look in the pinned flyspray recipes as there are some really good ones there.

To reduce the flies annoying your horse make sure that you keep rugs clean and remove all sweat before turning out - this includes the cover - if it starts to smell sweaty then it needs a wash.
 
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