Neem

[65284]

A neighbor is mixing a little cold pressed neem seed oil with water and a few drops of liquid soap and spraying his cows. He claims it is doing a good job of controlling flies.

I Googled Neem and there are some pretty strong claims made for this tree, all sorts of medicinal and other uses for it. Native to India and SE Asia it has been exported to a lot of tropical and sub-tropical countries. There is a Neem plantation in Florida.

Has anyone ever tried Neem oil as a fly repellent?

[godsgapeach]

I use it for other pests (have to make sure I use it late in the day on plants or it'll kill my honey bees), but haven't tried it on the cows for flies. I was wondering if it would work too!

[LizD]

I use a combo of neem, citronella, a surfactant (like liquid soap) and water and spray it on my cows during milking time. It really works as a fly repellent and stops them from kicking off the equipment to get that biting fly! Liz

[linn]

I use need seed oil in my dog shampoo bar. It works well to repel fleas so it should work for flies.

[65284]

Originally Posted by LizD

I use a combo of neem, citronella, a surfactant (like liquid soap) and water and spray it on my cows during milking time. It really works as a fly repellent and stops them from kicking off the equipment to get that biting fly! Liz

Thanks all for the replies.

Liz, would you mind sharing your formula, that is the amount of each ingredient you use? And where is the best place to purchase neem and citronella? Hey, at least I know where to get the water and soap.

[LizD]

I get the neem and citronella from a soap making supply here in Canada, I use the citronella mainly for smell, neems a bit garlicy and this spray we use on ourselves too. In a two liter jug, about 150ml of both citronella and neem oil, it's a thick paste actually maybe a tablespoon of the surfactant that I use, dish soap will do the same but I don't know how much and warm water to shake the stuff around until it is combined and then fill the jug and I put it from there into a misting bottle for plants. I think the neem is the important fly stopper and it works for them all up here. L

[vickie]

Could you use it on a milking cow? I am putting skin so soft mixed with water on her now and it helps but not complete fly control. Vickie

[65284]

Originally Posted by vickie

Could you use it on a milking cow? I am putting skin so soft mixed with water on her now and it helps but not complete fly control. Vickie

Vickie, if I'm reading her first reply correctly she is using it on a milk cow.

"It really works as a fly repellent and stops them from kicking off the equipment to get that biting fly! Liz"

Not sure but I took that to mean milking equipment.

[LizD]

Absolutley my milking cows with vacuum milking system and no flavour in the milk. I spray their underbellies and udders before I wash the teats and you know what? Any flies that are there sucking drop off! Anyway we are organic and I have tried umpteen things this is the first that worked! Again the citronella addition is for humans I think, not flys! Liz