What fly spray stops pesky midges?

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Michelle73

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Whats the best midge repellant? I've used NAF Midge Off Cream and it didn't make the slightest difference! Some have recommended Coopers for flys - says they keep the flys off for days but what about Midges? I made my own fly spray last year which didn't really do much! My girl is fed Garlic too!
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Whats your suggestions please?
 
am having success with deosect.

it was over £30 and i bought it for lice on a youngster but have lots left over because it has to be diluted greatly.
it is really powerful stuff and am only using it every 2 weeks.

move away from the stream,midges like that environment.
 
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move away from the stream,midges like that environment.

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Don't believe I mentioned a stream in my Original Post!

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I make my own which seems popular with various yards. tea bags brewed strong with malt vinegar with citronella and i cant remember my last ingredient...aarrgghhhhhh someone help me cos its been on here loads!
 
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move away from the stream,midges like that environment.

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??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Don't believe I mentioned a stream in my Original Post!

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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you never
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I can only assume that you've taken it upon yourself to be nosey without an invite!!!

Anyway, moving away from the stream isn't an option as the stream is my only supply of water! (Except when it rains and I catch it from the roof) It doesn't seem to matter where you locate your horse in that field the midges are waiting! I don't think her colour helps much either unfotunately!!! Midges seem to be attracted to the whiter areas on her body. I'm using a fly sheet with a belly pannel too.
 
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I make my own which seems popular with various yards. tea bags brewed strong with malt vinegar with citronella and i cant remember my last ingredient...aarrgghhhhhh someone help me cos its been on here loads!

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Friend of mine used this mix and she has the same problem with a stream on the land but it didn't make much difference to her either
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Another friend that uses Coopers swears by it but hasn't got problems with midges!!!
 
I have never found anything that worked and I think I have tried pretty much everything. I had to resort to a boett to physically stop them being able to bite her.
 
How do you find a Boet? Don't they sweat in it when its hot? Mum has them for her ponies and swears by them - but two of hers actually have sweet itch. She says it does wonders for their coats and cuts down on grooming! Suspect I'll be asking her a lot more questions about Boets this evening!! I didn't want to keep a rug on my mare all the time as she prefers to be naked!!!!
 
This seems to help mine

I feed linseed, brewers yeast and clivers to have as healthy skin as possible and the yeast helps to make them unattractive to midges. I do not feed garlic as this made them rub more.

I spray with a mixture of essential oils and lots of skin so soft bath oil - this helps a fair bit. I also use sudocream on the sheath and teats.

I use a fly rug and mask - now having a SI rug made for me by Cornerstone browbands - will let folks know how they work out.

I think the combination on the whole works for mine but I do need all three things together to stop mine rubbing, have tried not using spray just rug, and other way round and they are very itchy. The supplements also do make a difference to how itchy they are.
 
She's not rubbing or itching so thats got to be a bonus. I'd just noticed lost of midges sat on her whiter areas and her swishing her tail rather a lot!

What is clivers? Never heard of that! How do you feed your linseed? We used to boil it until it looked like frogs spawn then feed it! And the brewers yeast lots of people swear by that, how do you get it and how much is it.

This is all turning out to be very interesting!
 
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I can only assume that you've taken it upon yourself to be nosey without an invite!!!


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no,not nosey,have used footpath for last 24 years and had some of my own horses in the very same field when i had run out of grass at home.also use the road several times a day.

no law against it is it?????
 
Linseed - I feed the micro stuff - get it in 25 k bags from Charnwood Milling - but I do feed a fair bit as I have two large horses and also use it for show bloom. Mine get a pint mug a day split between two feeds - I do feed more at times but more for weight if they drop off.

Clivers - I get mine from Feedmark, just started this year and they are rubbing less I have noticed - I keep them out 24 x 7 from May to October but this is my difficult time as I have them in at night and am trying to keep a show mane and tail. They get the amount stated on the tub. Cost is £20 for two month supply.

Brewyers yeast - again I get mine from Charnwood and they get a heaped tablespoon twice a day from end of Feb until November. It is about £30 with delivery for 25 k - far cheaper than anyone else.

If you only want small amount of these products, Simple Systems do linseed and yeast as do Gold Label, but they are more expensive than Charnwood.

Feedmark's Equidermis is excellent and has linseed and clivers and other stuff, but is pricey at the amount I would have to feed to mine.

Finally Global Herbs Skratch is also very good - but again aimed at itchy animals.

Maybe just a fly rug and a bit of spray are all you need.
 
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I can only assume that you've taken it upon yourself to be nosey without an invite!!!


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No, not nosey, have used footpath for last 24 years and had some of my own horses in the very same field when I had run out of grass at home. Also use the road several times a day.

No law against it is it?

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Fill your boots! Perhaps I should be flattered that you've felt the need for a good nose already!!
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Look forward to seeing you "on" the footpath some time soon, not seen you for such a long time!!! Which is quite remarkable!
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I do hope you stick to the footpath as per the new signs. LOL!!!
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So whats going on in the next field over with all the building work behind the stables?
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I make my own:

15ml citroenella; 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 4 tablespoons methylated spirits; 1 tablespoon washing up liquid; 1/2 pint of extremely strong tea (I use 10 teabags) and then top up the mixture to 2 litres, using water. Works a treat.

Feed marmite in some form or other.

Bathe him twice a week using a mixture of insecticidal shampoo and dettol and then cover him in killitch.

He wears a snuggy hoods rug.

The bits not covered by the rug (just his sheath and behind his leg) I put sudocrem on.

I spray him twice daily with the homemade flyspray and reapply the sudocrem once a day. He has the marmite once a day. Like I said, bathed twice a week, brushed off and rerugged.
 
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I make my own:

15ml citroenella; 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 4 tablespoons methylated spirits; 1 tablespoon washing up liquid; 1/2 pint of extremely strong tea (I use 10 teabags) and then top up the mixture to 2 litres, using water. Works a treat.

Feed marmite in some form or other.



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Thanks
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I'll find out at the weekend if she likes Marmite or not!!! And that flay spray works for midges? And definately methylated spirits? I thought that was highly flamable?
 
Well, I have never found out because I don't use ignition sources near my horse.
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I think it is flammable... but then so is some of the stuff int he products we use on them.

Yes, definitely meths. It isn't MY recipe, but one passed down to me by an oldish lady at my old yard, and used by everyone there.

If I am honest, no fly spray really keeps the midges away totally, but this does seem to help him (he has severe sweet itch and so far this year is scab free, even though snuggy hoods have had his rug for the last week or so and it has been warm here).

I also forgot to mention the skin so soft, but I think Theresa already mentioned that.
 
Yes I do use Feedmark stuff - swear by benevit - have used it for years and I did used to feed garlic but they are better without it. I used Steady up when I had high strung TBs.

I did use Equidermis - but needed more linseed and whilst is was great for one small horse, when you have clydesdales and gypsy cobs, it gets a bit pricey, hence using clivers, linseed and BY. I also feed black sunflower seeds so they get both omega 3 and 6 oils.

Fly spray I make is:

5 caps of dettol - from a 500ml size bottle

250 ml of Avon Skin so Soft and fresh - 500 ml bath oil. This can be halved if midges not too bad

2 teaspoons of citronella
2 teaspoons of eucalyptus oil
2 teaspoons of lavender oil
2 teaspoons of tea tree oil
2 teaspoons of cedarwood oil
2 teaspoons of bog myrtle oil – not essential but excellent for midge protection.

Put into a 1.5 litre bottle. Top up oils with either water or cold tea. Shake well before spraying and give a quick shake after every few squirts to make sure the oil is mixed with the water.

Spray on twice a day using enough to leave a fine mist on the coat. Ok for round sensitive areas.

I have used this on people as well as horses, but please do a patch test first in case your horse reacts to any of the above ingredients.

Cost works out about £3.50 - 4.50 a litre - not as cheap as some receipes but this does work well and smells nice. I get my avon on BOGOFF and essential oils from essential oils direct in bulk to keep costs down.

I have also found the skin so soft and fresh dry oil spray also very good if I am out and about and don't want to take a big sprayer with me.
 
Thanks. Lots and lots of people use the skin so soft from Avon, will have to give that a go as well.

I was only saying to OH the other day that knowlege isn't passed down from generation to generation anymore... Just like your fly spray recipe. Its the "Old Boys" knowlegde of little things. I was watching a video of the man who runs the stables at Badminton - I forget his name now - he was showing how to pull a tail correctly and he said that they used to put a twit of straw under the horses tail to lift it up after work as it helped the horse to cool down quicker!!! Thats the sort of thing that never gets passed on anymore!!

Anyway, waffled on there. Oops!
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Thanks again for the info.
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Thanks for the extra info Theresa F, will give those recipes a go. Will give the OH a shopping list and get him to mix up on his next day off - Monday!!! LOL!!!

Thanks again to everyone for the info and recipies.
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quote]

Fill your boots! Perhaps I should be flattered that you've felt the need for a good nose already!!
tongue.gif
smirk.gif
Look forward to seeing you "on" the footpath some time soon, not seen you for such a long time!!! Which is quite remarkable!
grin.gif


I do hope you stick to the footpath as per the new signs. LOL!!!
grin.gif
grin.gif


So whats going on in the next field over with all the building work behind the stables?
shocked.gif


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I can only assume that you've taken it upon yourself to be nosey without an invite!!!


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No, not nosey, have used footpath for last 24 years and had some of my own horses in the very same field when I had run out of grass at home. Also use the road several times a day.

No law against it is it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Fill your boots! Perhaps I should be flattered that you've felt the need for a good nose already!!
tongue.gif
smirk.gif
Look forward to seeing you "on" the footpath some time soon, not seen you for such a long time!!! Which is quite remarkable!
grin.gif


I do hope you stick to the footpath as per the new signs. LOL!!!
grin.gif
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So whats going on in the next field over with all the building work behind the stables?
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oh,by the way...there was some wierdo with glasses and a baseball cap sat in your gateway at 1.30 pm today.
 
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2 teaspoons of cedarwood oil


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Thank goodness it's not Sandalwood oil [at £1200 a kilo]
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Did anyone see The Apprentice on Weds?
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Sorry - I'm still laughing about that one
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