Aaaaannnd They're Here....

The flies and gnats that is.  It was pretty nice not having them 'round, but with all of this warm weather, they have arrived.  I read about two weeks ago that Shirley from Ride a Good Horse had put out her smudge pots, and I thought to myself, poor Shirley, I've got it good here.  Well Thursday I noticed some head shaking and tail swishing and thought here comes the flies, better start thinking about getting my fly spray made up...  

But first to find the recipe... Yeah, it's MIA.  And really I can't remember what all was in it, except  some sort of natural oil, some kind of animal fat, apple cider vinegar, and water....  Errrr, something similar.  So rather than spend time looking for the stuff, I just decided to look for another recipe.
Why homemade fly spray?  Well because I really hate paying $14.00 for fly spray.  It's painful to spray that kinda money into the wind.  (0:

Well I found three that aren't it, but worth a try I think...  I'm not sure which I'll buy supplies for tomorrow, but I'm making one of 'em.  I've got enough of the other left to last a few more days, but the girls and boys really don't want me to run out.

Here are my choices/options for this go 'round....

*Homemade Fly Spray for Horses #1*

Mix equal parts of the following: 

Cider Vinegar

Dawn Blue dish soap *

Water

Mix ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake well and use as you would any fly spray.

*Homemade Fly Spray for Horses #2*

Mix the following:

1 cup white distilled vinegar

1 cup Water

1/3 cup Dawn dish soap (blue, not ultra) *

Mix ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake well and use as you would any fly spray.

***NOTE: Dawn Dish washing does contain formaldehyde. If you wish to substitute a non-formaldehyde dish soap, this would work just as well. Lemon Brite is one.

*Homemade Fly Spray for Horses #3*

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup Avon Skin So Soft (Bath oil)

1 cup water

1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil

Mix ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake well and use as you would any fly spray.

I would like to comment here that the home made fly spray I'm using now  I am using in conjunction with skin so soft.  I like to put the skin so soft on after the fly spray and really "grease up" their heads using a sponge.  The sponge also allows me to get into their ears without dripping anything into their ear canals. (My Hee-Haws ears are also treated this way.  I made sure that they allowed their ears to be handled when they were small enough to "man handle".) The skin so soft makes them stink to high heaven (Chad calls it their Granny smell...), but the greasy oiliness of it really stops those gnats from landing.  And if they land, they can't really move around the heads surface or take back off.  Essentially killing them.  I will also add that I have not noticed the oil of the Skin So Soft causing Horse Girl's white face to burn, but I do not put it around her nose which is the place that she usually burns.  I do put it around her eyes, but in all the years I've had her, she has never had a sun burn around her eyes. 

But they usually wear fly masks in the day time, and right now I don't have any...  Because last year they really torn them up, and honestly, I thought I'd bought more during the winter months when I can save a few bucks...  But I've looked everywhere to no avail.  So today, while I'm out and about getting groceries and fly spray ingredients I'll try and find some fly masks with ears.  Good luck to me I'm guessing, merely because now, EVERYONE and their brother has noticed that they need one.  Being a last minute Louis never pays off!
More later about which I chose and what I think of it.
I do like the recipe that I can't find...so I will keep looking for it too.