Petroleum jelly & citronella oil - midge repellent?

Spyda

Spyda

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I'm not showing my filly this year so am planning on slathering her teat area and the insides of her hind legs with petroleum jelly, as a preventative to the midge nuisance she is suffering so badly from at the mo. I've tried just about EVERYTHING else over the past month or so - with no real success!!

Someone mentioned adding a little amount of Citronella essential oil to the Vasoline. Mixing up a little tub of this combination and using that. I need something very thick and oily as the gels, sprays, ointments and feed supplements are just not cutting it ATM. Not even Deosect is lasting more than a few days and quite frankly my filly is starting to take a dim view of being caught twice a day to be plastered in various midge repellent lotions and potions. There is a definite rolling of the eye and an "Oh no, not that again" expression whenever sees me with a bottle or tub in my hand. It doesn't help that the midge bites sting when the new layer of repellent is applied.

Would the petroleum jelly and Citronella oil combination work? Not irritate? She wears a Sweetitch Hoody but this doesn't cover the area these little @&*$" are biting her.
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TBH, I'd be loathe to use petrolum jelly on such sensitive skin, it will be unplesant for her when its hot.

I bring mine into a cool stable when the midges are bad - is that an option.

We also have a fan that can be rigged up to provide cool, moving air which prevents the midges too.
 
Have you tried sudocream? I mix it with a tiny bit of tea tree and sulphur powder, though it is good by itself.

My two have mild SI - which may be mild due to me being careful with them.

I use it on my mare's udder and my gelding's sheath area to stop midges irritating them. I also spray some of my fly spray on top of the cream to give ultimate protection. The spray has a lot of skin so soft and fresh oil, dettol and six essential oils in it.

I do this morning and evening and it does reduce the itching and sore areas.
 
I second the sudocream. It will soothe the bites as well as protect.

Oh, and lots of sympathy for you! Sometimes sweeticth can really get you down.
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Have you tried Summer Fly cream? Thats what my vet reccomended for my mares teats and it works very well, its really thick and gloupy. You can get it from your vets or some tack shops sell it it costs about £5.
 
Thanks for the replies. Bringing her in really would be a last resort, as everything else is out 24/7 now and she'd been in the barn complex by herself. She gets stressy and weaves, so I'd rather avoid that if at all possible.

I've tried the Summer Fly Cream. My vet recommended it too! I'm using it twice a day, along with other things, but new batches of lumps and bleeding are there at each end of the day, so I assume nothing is hindering the poxy things from feeding. I think the midges this year are mutated "SUPER MIDGES" - impervious to lotions, potions, DEET, Deosect, essential oils, iodine udder cream, etc.

I could try Sudocrem but not sure I would prefer her to have that plastered on her underneath, any more than I would the petroleum jelly TBH. Both are going to be sticky and messy and the jelly is cheaper! I use Aloe Gel to soothe her bites each evening.

In all my 40 years of keeping horses and ponies I've never had this trouble with midges. I've gained a new respect for those POOR people with sweet itch suffers.
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How about Avons skin so soft and fresh dry oil - light spray which may be worth a go - just make sure it is not on skin that is exposed to sun in case it burns.

I use in on myself and my cob when showing and it is effective for midges and it is not sticky.

My two are obviously strange as they like having their bits massaged with sudocream mix and sprayed. Only downside is Chancer does get a messy sheath - but then he does anywhere as he rubs his belly and fills it with mud and grit.
 
I've tried Avon Skin So Soft - useless.
A few weeks ago my mare's navel got bitten so badly that the bites got infected & I had to get the vet out to give her antibiotics. I've tried everything! Including Camrosa which the midges just stuck to. My gelding also came in one day with a dozen of the little b------s hanging on to his navel & blood sucking! Am using Mark Todd fly repellant at the moment & it's keeping the little b-----s at bay, but it's VERY expensive.
 
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