You know how in the book of Exodus, one of the ten plagues was massive amounts of flies?
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.
Especially when I’m milking my cow.
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 chemicals floating anywhere near my lovely raw milk.
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.
This homemade fly spray recipe with essential oils works much better.
(this post contains affiliate links)
Homemade Fly Spray Recipe
- 4 cups quart raw apple cider vinegar (where to buy raw apple cider vinegar) OR make your own vinegar
- 20 drops rosemary essential oil (where to buy my favorite essential oils)
- 20 drops basil essential oil
- 20 drops peppermint esssential oil
- 2 tablespoons liquid oil (olive oil, canola oil, or mineral oil will work)
- 1 tablespoon dish soap (I use this kind)
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 your homemade fly spray to be like conventional fly sprays lasting for several days, you will be disappointed.
From my observations, it repels the flies, it doesn’t kill them. I had to apply 1-2x per day for maximum effectiveness, but at least it provided temporary relief without chemicals. I will definitely be using it during my milking routine and on my horses and goats, too.
Notes:
- If you don’t have access to raw apple cider vinegar, you can still use pasteurized apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. I just think the raw goodness packs an extra punch.
- Speaking of vinegar, if you have any glass quart-sized vinegar jars hanging around, often you can screw on a spray top for a cool glass spray bottle.
- If you don’t have these exact essential oils, no worries. There are TONS of oils that repel insects including lavender, tea tree, pine, citronella, arborvitae, thyme, etc. Feel free to play around and mix and match.
- Need insect repellent recipes for the humans in your life? I’ve got ya covered. Here are 20+ recipes to keep the bugs from biting.
- I don’t use homemade fly spray on my chickens, BUT, I do a variety of things to control flies in my chicken coop.
Watch Me Make This Homemade Fly Spray!
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 put beer in mine, catches flys and wasps in the same trap
Apparently, if you hang a zip lock bag full of water with a couple pennies in it then it is supposed to repel flies from the whole barn … I haven’t tried it yet but you never know it might work!
Don’t do that trick…it doesn’t work very well. We had flies ALL over our enclosed back porch, tried putting pennies in water in a zippie…hung them up where the sun could shine on them…nothing…nada…zip…flies did not go away. Sorry.
I have tried this…though I have to admit, I was very skeptical…. but it was cheap enough that I didn’t have anything to loose! I hung the baggies with water and pennies inside by my front door, back door, garage doors, etc and YES!!! IT DID WORK FOR ME! Both my husband and I were AMAZED at the difference in the fly population! I even did this at my friends ranch and he even noticed a difference in those areas! I don’t know what the difference is or how it works but for us, we swear by it!!
This works because it makes the area around the bag seem like it is real busy to them. they may come around but they won’t stay.
I call bulls**t!!!
Maybe try to use copper pennies, because the new ones are different and not as effective. 1982 is when my dad said the government stopped making copper pennies. Now the pennies made after are mainly zinc with a thin copper coating. Also, my dad keeps all of his copper pennies and silver dimes, quarters, and nickels because he can trade them in for like 2-3 pennies per one copper penny. It shows the value of the copper.
The pennies in the zip~lock does not work, I tried it last summer. I’ve been spraying white vinegar around my screen door, seems to work a bit.
Did not work for us
Worked for us but we didn’t put pennies in the bags, just water. No flies came around our doors!
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’ve been using DE for 10 years on my mule. Keeps him parasite free. I get a stool check every 6 months to be sure. He has tested negative every time. Make sure your animal is parasite free first. I did a wormer – got a stood check and give him 1 tbl in his morning meal mixed with a little water so it doesn’t go air born.
Also sprinkle it on the manure pile to help with killing flies and larva as well. Helps some.
Im not sure about flies. But for mosquitos, my old neighbors swear by spraying a big bottle of blue mouthwash, 3 cups epsom salt, and 3, 12 oz stale cheap beers. Around the yard, it was on Paul Harvey years ago. My brother used to have terrible ant problems. and they sprayed peppermint oil in water around and haven’t seen an ant in months.
Here is a great spray for mosquitos
It really works
1 cup Epson Salts
2 stale beers and 1 big bottle blue mouth rinse
mix and let set over night and spray
It last for about 3 weeks
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!
Do you happen to have the label of what’s in it. I have searched and can’t find any info. May just have to call the company. Thank you!
I’m curious about the ingredients too because it says “consider for use on organic farms”. I have an organic farm and would buy this, but without an ingredient list, I just can’t do it.
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.
Don’t know why that struck me so funny – I immediately pictured this big fat chicken waddling around the pasture! Haha Guineas help with insect control as well. Thanks for the laugh.
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 realize this is an older post, but I am about to try the 50 gallon drum as our cows are miserable with the flies. I hate using the pour on insecticide (it kills flies that land on the cows) but it has to be getting in the blood stream as well–not cool. I like the idea of the DE dust bags. I bet we could hang them so they would dust the cows backs as they come out of the parlor. Anyway, the link for the 55 gallon drum fly trap is here if you read this and you haven’t tried it already. http://www.extension.org/pages/62007/video:-innovations-on-an-organic-dairy:-the-fly-barrel
This is an awesome idea Liz– thanks for sharing the link!
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!
Have you tried making a fly spray with TerraShield? I’m looking for a good recipe for my dairy cow.
Yes– I did use TerraShield last year– about 20-30 drops in a quart of water. Worked well!
Our beautiful cow, Butterfly, has zillions of flies and her skin is swollen from the bites. Do you think the TerraShield and water would work on the cow or have you only tried it for people? Any suggestions for other oils to add to the TerraShield or do you think it is enough by itself for the livestock? Many thanks…..
Try mixing witch hazel and basil,add some mineral or essential oil for longer duration. Keeps mosquitoes and flies from biting you too!
What about if you have nursing calves? Would it be safe on the utters for the calves?
It should work just fine. The essential oils aren’t poisonous so the calves should be okay with that. Plus, you may not need to even spray the udder because the scent of the oils would carry over at least that far.
Hi, we crush LEMON BALM leaves, stems and all, in our hands and rub it all over ourselves and our goats, cows, dogs, cats, pet chickens and turkeys. Keeps flies and sketters away all day. It is safe, non toxic and grows like crazy.
Where do you get Lemon balm?? I would like to grow n try it if it works…. My poor horses are welted! and kids and the rest of my fur family are getting eaten alive!
We use lavender oil on the hot spots our dogs get (they have double coats). It keeps them calm and dries up the hot spot really fast. I’m going to try the lavender oil and the cloves stuck in apples (like the Christmas clove & oranges) when I go up to dog & horse sit at my friend’s 44 acres this weekend – the flies drive me crazy up there. I’m also going to make those fly traps using a 2-litre pop bottle. I use DM around the foundation of the house to eliminate earwigs, and also dust the dogs coats with it and rub it down to their skin to keep fleas & ticks away.
Oooh– I like the clove-in-apples idea!
I have been trying DE adding 2% of it to the amount of feed I am giving my horses. I have been doing this for 2 weeks now and have had no results yet as to reducing the number of flies on them. I have spilled some on the ground and it does keep ants away. The lady at the feed store says it is also a good dewormer for the horses which is why I originally bought it but it does not yet seem to affect the fly population.
By the way, it is VERY important that you use food grade DE only. Even people eat this stuff. However, non food grade DE can cause many problems including cancer… This is very powdery stuff and be sure you do not breathe it in,
Hi Joel,
From the reading I’ve done, DE works by supposedly cutting up and drying out bugs- so there isn’t any chemical constituents in it that will repel flies. I have heard of some folks raving about its use as a dewormer for internal parasites, but using it in that form won’t have any bearing on whether or not your horses repel flies. I like to sprinkle it on the ground in my chicken coop to reduce the amount of flies hanging out in there, but unless you apply it topically to your horses, it probably won’t be a great repellent. (There’d be nothing wrong with applying it topically, just might be hard to get them evenly covered.)
Thank you, Jill. Guess I was given incorrect information on the part about repelling flies.
This works for fruit flies so it may work for barn flies also. I take a container, cut small holes on the sides, and put water and jam inside. The sweets attract the flies but they can’t find their way out. Being there isn’t anything to sit on, they get tired and end-up drowning in the water on the bottom. This is something you would leave out all the time and empty periodically. You might have to put something other than jam to attract the flies into the container. Mine sure works for fruit flies and its not expensive either.
Very cool- thanks for sharing your idea Sharon!
The ONLY thing that works for me and the animals is this –> http://www.homedepot.com/p/RESCUE-Disposable-Fly-Trap-FTD-DB12/100083352 Just add water to the line and it works like a charm. Keep it a slight distance from where your back door is because it will have a scent. But those flies love it and keeps everything in control. I put another bag in the barn and it’s good for the entire Spring/Summer beginning of Fall season. Check the water level weekly or every couple of days if there is extreme heat.
We don’t have farm animals (yet), but we do have a huge fly problem out at our property. You said this spray “smells strong..whew”…would you say it’s suitable to spray on ourselves as a repellant, or is the smell too powerful? Is it stronger/more unpleasant than conventional mosquito spray, for example? Thanks!
For humans use something that smells nice. 😉
Like Terrashield oil blend. Or something more specific, depending on the insects you are dealing with. Mosquito – lavender, lemongrass. Fly – rosemary, peppermint. Ants – peppermint, spearmint. Etc.
Here is a webshop to get these in pure quality. Have fun experimenting.
https://www.mydoterra.com/pegazus/#/
Everyone has such wonderful ideas. I love the community that is going on at this website! Jill: I have tried many different recipes for fly spray, and find that adding some mineral oil may keep the ingredients on the animal longer, as well as provide moisturizing. Experiment with the amount, too much will cause your sprayer to clog, not enough, and it is not oily enough to linger. Marnita: I am going to try your idea for the fat and banana peel traps. I’ve heard we are supposed to have a record high mosquito pop. this year in FL. Any ideas for mosquito traps?
I know–this community is the greatest! I love my readers. 🙂 Interesting about the mineral oil!
How about adding a small amount of mineral oil to help the spray stick to the coat longer.
The best thing for your animals to keep flys off is to use WD40 works great and harmless
We use vanilla extract and water and it works great!
People, PLEASE be careful when using essential oils of ALL kinds around cats. These oils–even if smelled–can cause serious liver damage or even KILL a cat!
I have wiped this fly killer mix over my kitchen counter and the flies immediately left, so I know it is very effective. Thanks for sharing!
Good idea Andrea!
1/3 vinegar
1/3 dettol or an other desinfectans
1/3 bubble water.
In a spray bottle, good shake and ready to use. It works about 8 hours. And best of all, cheap!!
I never tried WD40 Jerry thanks for the suggestion. I was looking for a fly spray that kills flies when directly sprayed on them. White vinegar seems to work very well but I was wondering if anyone had found anything else thats better.
Please do not use wd-40. It is a known cancer causing agent.
what if instead of using melaleuca oil i used spanish sage oil?
reason i ask is because i don’t have melaleuca.
and is this safe to spray on horses face?
I don’t have spanish sage, so I can’t say for sure-but it might be worth a try. I would avoid spraying on their face, as you don’t want to get it in their eyes. You can wipe it around their ears, though.
Hey! Wat if don’t have rosemary? What could you use instead?
Cedar oil is great for killing bugs. There is a commercial product called Cedarcide, and I have used it on my cats for years for fleas. It makes the bugs shut their respiratory system, and they suffocate themselves. It is also safe for puppies. I am sure you could probably make your own mix with essential oils, but never tried it. I love the smell, and I use it when I go camping. It also makes skin and fur very soft.
I don’t know if this will work or not, but we get the “greenhead” flies and what we do around here is make a wood box with the bottom open and add legs. Paint it black. Make a hole on top and place a glass jar over it. The flies go up into the jar and can’t get out.
Interesting! I need to try that…
Jill just would like you to know that rosemary oil is toxic when ingested and im guessing when the cows lick themselves they are ingesting the rosemary.
I had a cat that died from rosemary oil licking it out of the oil burners that i had left out when i was done with it not knowing it was toxic.
Hi Lorelei, I’m very sorry to hear about your cat, however the problem here was not that rosemary is toxic to cows or other herbivores (they will eat the plant) but that almost all essential oils – and many of the live herbs we like to eat – are extremely toxic to cats. We have cats, and we basically can’t have any indoor plants at all, because there are so few things that AREN’T toxic to cats. It’s really a little ridiculous how much is.
“When I’m milking my cow” Is that a euphemism?
Please be very careful with the essential oils you use and how much you use. Do NOT use lemon, lime, bergamot or really any other citrus essential oil unless they are steam distilled. If they are not steam distilled, they are what we call phototoxic and can burn and blister you and your animal if it is on your skin and you go out in the sun. Educate yourself to protect your animals by going to Animal Aromatherapy (Safe Use) on FB. This group is run by a certified animal aromatherapist and she is very knowledgeable and helpful to keep your animals safe while using eo’s on or around them.
Right. That’s why I didn’t include citrus oils in my recipe.
Jill, I used a variation on your recipe last year on our horse – started with yours, then experimented over the summer – and I thought I’d share. It does work, although like you said, it doesn’t last more than a day. It makes riding possible though – she is extremely fly-sensitive. If she even hears the buzzing close she starts to twitch.
4 cups apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dish soap (we had Dawn in the house and that’s more concentrated so I used less)
10 drops rosemary oil
15 drops basil oil
15 drops peppermint oil
10 drops lemongrass oil
20 drops lavender oil
5 drops clove bud oil
Thanks for sharing your tweaks Sarah! I’m glad it’s working for you!
I have tried all of the marked fly sprays, and I have tried “diy” methods. There is only one brand of marketed spray that I ever buy, and although it is the most expensive out there it is well worth the money. So much so that when all of the “diy” methods don’t stack up, I go running to the store to fork out the $23 it costs…gladly because my horses are my children. Here last week, a friend of mine handed me the empty marked spray bottle that I had laying around but to my surprise it was full. He had in the bottle a mixture of garlic powder (not salt) and water. Guess what – Holy Cow It Worked! I sprayed all over my horses where just seconds prior their legs, face, and body were covered..now I only saw maybe two willing to hack the mixture. The mixture is thick with the garlic powder where each spray fills my hand with tiny spots of garlic, but it doesn’t bother the horses. In fact my made comes running to me when I grab the bottle. The downfall is that its been a week now and somehow I’d swear that the flies are becoming tolerant of the mixture. So, today I am going to add to it. I am going to add the dish soap and vinegar to the garlic. I’ll let you know how it works.
Jill, why not just do Terrashield in water? Will that not work on animals?
That works too!
Hi, Jill! I’ve been following your blog for a couple of years now, and last year I switched from the crystal creek no fly to the recipe you Barbee, which worked nearly as well but was So much cheaper. Whenever I needed a new batch I’d just pull up this page and follow your proportions. So I never wrote it down. But now you’ve changed your recipe, and this one doesn’t work for me. Could you please send me your original recipe from last year? I need to make more and I’m nearly out… Thank you!
Barbee? Lol! Supposed to read ‘posted’!
I would like this recipe, as we have beef cows. I used the Crystal Creek fly repellent last summer. We poured it over our sock/rubs, and the cows would rub under these things going in or out of the barn, and we had one outside for them to scratch on. But would like to make my own version. Why is dish soap used in these recipes?
Thank you! Our big bull allowed me to spray him with your recipe today. (The young steer did was too nervous 🙁 I think it’s working. I’ll check again later. I appreciate having an option because I hate to see the flies swarming them in the heat!
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I always was concerned in this subject and stock still am, thanks for putting up.
Moved into an old house on 1.5 acre section with wet back heating. Cut lawns regularly and in summer flies are horrendous. With wetback going over winter it provides warm environment for flies so they stick around. Tried the water in ziplock back as stand alone, didn’t work, put pennies in them, didn’t work, stuck led light beneath where they hung on window and though they lessened it still did not have desired effect. (I’m talking hundreds of flies a day.) Tried this recipe and though I’ve tried before with other essential oils it still did not work for us. Hope all goes well with others. Wonder if it’s because of a species thing? Seems only one thing works. A cold environment.
We have a back yard steer ,houdini .
The flies have not been a problem with us ,yet .What I do for the present is walk houdini up an down the fence . I carry a fly swatter and whack the flies. .The Rib also as a degree in herbal medicines and we plan on pursuing her knowledge on natural remedies ,oils and such .
Last attempt then never mind my input !
Eat well and stay healthy .
From our life to yours,
earl&Rib
I am making this tomorrow! We just started getting flies a couple of days ago and my poor Jersey girl is getting raw spots on her underbelly already. Plus they bite me and my daughters when we milk and that just annoys me.
Do you use plastic or glass container?? I’ve heard EO will eat through plastic but using higher quality plastic is ok?
Hi, does anyone has anything specificly for horse flies? I can live with the (regular) flies, but these horse flies annoy and bite hard the horses, cows and camels. Thanks.