Remember how one of the 10 Egyptian plagues in Exodus was massive amounts of flies?
Well, when I was younger, I always thought “Well, that one wouldn’t be THAT bad…”
I take it back.
We had massive amounts of flies last year. It was a constant battle to keep them off of my animals, out of my food, and off of my baby… (It got so bad, I even got bug nets for the playpen!)
Of course, the typical solution is to use hardcore chemicals and sprays to drive them away.
I just don’t feel good about doing that anymore.
I need to find a solution before our cow freshens next month. The flies are already driving her crazy, and I can just imagine how that will effect the milking process.
I know from experience with my horses, whenever you apply fly spray, it gets everywhere. On your hands, on your clothes, in your mouth. I don’t want those harmful chemicals anywhere near my lovely raw milk.
So let the experimentation begin!
Last year I tried a few white vinegar/dish soap/mouth wash concoctions. While they sorta worked, I wasn’t super impressed with any of them.
I’ve been using this new recipe for a few weeks now. It’s so natural, you could drink it! (not that I would recommend that…)
Natural Fly Spray #1
- 1 quart Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (I suppose you could use regular ACV from the store, but I think using the real stuff adds an extra punch. I get mine from Azure Standard for a fairly reasonable price.)
- 1 teaspoon Citronella Essential Oil (I found this at my local natural foods store, or check Mountain Rose Herbs)
Mix together in a spray bottle. Apply to the animals frequently (give it a good shake before applying). And be careful, it smells strong. Whew!
The final verdict?
It works. But if you are expecting it to be like the conventional fly sprays that last for several days, you will be disappointed.
From my observations, it repels the flies, it doesn’t kill them. I had to apply several times over the course of the day, but at least it provided temporary relief. I will definitely be using it before milking.
But, I’m going to keep experimenting and researching.
Watch out flies- This is war! 
(This post contains affiliate links)
This post is a part of Simple Lives Thursday
About Jill Winger
I will have to try this one out on our little goat and my horse! Do you have any ideas on homemade fly TRAPS though? There are tons around our place lately, so much so that the store bought (and rather expensive and not re-usable) traps get filled to the brim within a few days! Ack! So gross…
I made a homemade fly trap last year out of a milk jug, but it didn’t really work. I can’t remember exactly what I put in it. It caught a few, but not as many as I’d hoped. Might be worth trying again, though! I’ll let you know what I find!
I will definitely be trying this! The flies are horrible around here, and YES it messes with milking time something awful! Poor cow can’t stand still very long with all those flies biting her. And then get on me, and I get bit and swished by her tail, and the whole nine yards! It’s not so bad since we’ve started machine milking, but still she’s covered in flies when she comes in, and at times her teats are so sore and even bloody from fly bites. Both my milk cows will definitely be appreciate of this remedy!
Poor girls! Hope this recipe works for you!
That does look handy. I am not on a farm but have a huge mosquitoe problem. Would it repel them too? Also, have you ever tried adding Diatomecuous Earth (DE) to their feed or whatever they might eat besides grass (not a livestock person)? I use it for my dogs and read that it deters or reduces flies population because they can’t lay eggs in the stools. I know it is sold in some natural horse supplements like Bug Check. I was wondering if it really worked.
I’m not sure about the mosquitoes, but it would be worth a try! I have been experimenting with DE, actually. I even wrote a post about it’s garden uses for Frugal Granola a while back (http://frugalgranola.com/2011/04/diatomaceous-earth-a-natural-pesticide-alternative/) I need to keep playing with it, though. I really like the idea of it!
I ditto the DE (diatomaceous earth). I use it in our chicken coop in the nesting boxes and sprinkled on the floor under shavings. Make sure it is FOOD GRADE only—the other kind is toxic.
It works for barns, horses, goats, and any animal. You can read about it at bulkherbstore.com (just search it)…for more information on it.
Also, it’s VERY powdery. I wear a paper mask when initially applying it.
I have played around with DE a little, but haven’t really fed it to my horses or cow, yet. Think it’d be worth a try, though!
I feed it to my goats and dogs as wormer. I add it to the goat’s feed, and for the dogs I mix a little in with some raw hamburger. When I think of it, I put a little in the chicken feeder. I have observed worms in the chicken manure afterwards!
I am interested to see your progress on this! I have tired many homemade fly sprays too, but like you say, none as good as the conventional fly sprays. I too hate spraying the horses down because it gets all over me and I don’t want it on the baby :/
My family has a couple of gorgeous Jersey milk cows, and the flies can make milking miserable! We found that Crystal Creek’s No-Fly (http://www.crystalcreeknatural.com/animal_products/nof.html) is AMAZING. It’s not cheap, but it’s very concentrated and works so well it was worth the price for us. We liked the water based formula best, and after diluting it, put it in a pump sprayer. Lovely. =) And it even smells good!
I’ve never hear of Crystal Creek- will have to check it out!
We started using DE and even with three cows we have had zero flies. By this time last year we have had at least one hatch but none so far. (cross my fingers)
Megan- this is intriguing to me- how much are you feeding your cows??
My folks always use the milk jugs with water in them and then they throw in some fat and banana peels it stinks so you don’t want it close to your house but works great. they hang them in the trees. it kills tons.
Oooh… fat and banana peels- never thought of that! I tried homemade traps last year, but don’t think they were stinky enough!
That looks like my kind of spray!
I have recently tried a bug spray recipe that I found on-line as well!
I hate all of the chemicals in regular bug spray.
Let me know if you try the ice cream recipe. We love it!
Love, Kristin
Definitely trying this for the poor cows and horses!!
Great idea! We desperately need something to keep the pesty things away from our house, too. They drive me crazy in the house. blech!
I’m mixing up some of this today. We’re butchering chickens in the morning and I’m hopeful to keep the flies down using this around the “whacking” area and the cutting table. Thanks for the recipe!
Hope it works! Have fun chicken whacking!
We used to feed our horses 2 cups ACV with their water (100 gal), they start giving off a faint scent that the flies don’t like. Worth a shot!
Interesting, Miya! I think I might try that this summer (with the horses and cows!)
I was wondering if DE would kill off all of your benificial critters too? We did not have a real winter this year and the bugs are all ready getting bad. Thank you for the spray recipe, will have to give it a try!
Hi Tracy, yes– DE will kill off the “good guys” too, so use it with caution!
Following the cows with chickens is helpful. Chicken eat the larva from the cow pies. If you rotate pasture so that your cow is in one pasture that is then followed by your chicken being on that pasture, with a cow moving to a new pasture. Natures way of keeping down flies is to keep the cattle moving.
I meant to say followed by your chickens. One chicken wouldn’t do it.
Have you noticed your milk tasting funny? I always had that problem with the chemical stuff it’s like it soaked in and passed through the milk yuck! I’ll have to try this and see if I notice any taste difference in my milk. Oh try setting up a fan next to the stand seems a little silly I know but it really helps to keep the flys off my girls (not to mention they seem to appreciate the nice cool air- yeah my goats are spoiled lol)
Nope- never noticed funny tasting milk with this recipe. Really like your fan idea, too!
I use a fan too when milking my goat – it helps both of us – I turn it on as high as it can go. Diamond (my goat) will stand in front of it when she gets the chance. Thanks for the recipe. I’ve sprinkled DE but haven’t put it in their food – I have a bucket of it and the chickens use it as a dust bath. I’ve been planning on using clove essential oil and water (or alcohol) – mix before each time I spray. I hear that they hate the smell of cloves – the water or alcohol will evaporate and just leave the cloves. If that doesn’t work I’ll track down some citronella oil.
Hmmm… I’m sprinkled DE in my coop, too, but never tried the dust bath idea. I like that!
I saw a trap online that was homemade with a 50 gallon barrel and PVC pieces in the side. The idea is to put something good and stinky in the bottom that the flies will go after. They fly in the PVC pipes that have an elbow in them that prevents them from flying back out. For the lid of the barrel, you cut out the top and put something clear on it so that the flies fly towards the light once they’re in the barrel. They eventually wear themselves out and drop to the bottom where they make their own stinky smell after awhile. Seems pretty cool to me although I’ve never tried it. Great blog…I’ve been reading off and on all day!
A 50 gallon barrel sounds right up my alley… A lot of the homemade fly traps I’ve seen are just milk jug size, and with the amount of flies in my barn, that fills up in no time!
I find a plastic bag filled with water with a penny in it works great!!!!
I would also try adding Tea Tree oil and Lavender oil to the mix…bugs don’t like either
and it would smell good too! Peppermint is another one bugs don’t like….but I would check on all those oils and make sure they are ok with your animals first of course… I use a spray of water, lavender and tea tree oil and spray it around our windows and doors and we haven’t had a bug problem this year 
Yes– definitely! When I originally posted this recipe, I wasn’t into essential oils yet. But now I’m addicted to them, so you can bet I’ll be adding lots to my concoctions this year!