Fly Control?

[SkyridgeFarm]

Does anyone have a natural/non-toxic product (commercial or homemade)they've used to keep flies off livestock??

[agmantoo]

I have used a commercial version of fly spray made from chrysanthemum flowers that worked OK.

Here is a couple of recipes flowers
Vinegar Fly Spray
Mix together 14 oz. apple cider vinegar, 4 oz. baby oil, 2 oz. tea tree oil and 1 oz. citronella oil in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Spray flies with the mixture kills them. Spray the solution onto animals that attract flies or around house doors to deter flies from coming near.

Epsom Salt Fly Spray
Dissolve 1/4 cup Epsom salts in 1/2 cup of hot water. Pour 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup body oil into the mixture. Mix the ingredients well. Pour the solution into a spray bottle. Spraying the flies kills them. Spraying around doors and windows deters flies from coming into the house.

[Suzyq2u]

We use a product called cylence (was recommended on the goat forum) for our goats and now our highland. Works great! It's just a drench. A good google search will find it for you
ETA we like it because there is no milk or meat withdrawl

[suzyhomemaker09]

Originally Posted by Suzyq2u

We use a product called cylence (was recommended on the goat forum) for our goats and now our highland. Works great! It's just a drench. A good google search will find it for you
ETA we like it because there is no milk or meat withdrawl

Not a drench...
It is a pour on....I like and use it as well...just did my Dexter cow yesterday....
Costs about <$20 for a bottle..depending on how strongly one uses it can last a while..I don't have many animals so I buy the pint bottle...473 ml.
at it's strongest suggested dosage it will treat 19 cows that are over 800 lbs...
as the above poster mentioned there is no withdrawal time at all for it's use.

[Suzyq2u]

Lol! Yes pour-on not drench

[whodunit]

Anyone try to little wasps that eat fly larvae?

[Ironbutt]

Originally Posted by Suzyq2u

Lol! Yes pour-on not drench

Can you mix it up in a sprayer and spray the cows? I can't get close enough to my cows to pour it on them..

[suzyhomemaker09]

Originally Posted by whodunit

Anyone try to little wasps that eat fly larvae?

I have...and while the idea is nice...for us they get rather pricey as they are not a dump one time and all your problems are solved type thing...you have to routinely put them out .

[Maria]

We are trying the wasps this year, and the fly population seems much reduced. It is very pricy, though.