This homemade fly spray recipe is the bee’s knees.
But it doesn’t keep away bees. At least I don’t think it does.
Anyway, I don’t care about bees right now. Here in Arizona, we are currently under attack from flies. And it’s my homemade fly spray that has come to the rescue.
You’ve never known frustration until you’ve tried to milk a goat while swatting away a swarm of flies. Now, we don’t have swarms of flies, but they are buggin’ us. If you are having an real infestation of flies, try these natural remedies to get rid of flies. Ours aren’t quite as bad as all that, but they’re still annoying.
Most fly sprays contain chemicals up the shiz, and as much as I love the convenience of those sprays, I don’t like to spray chemicals on my animals. Not even on my meanest goat. No, I shall rise above such things. We like to raise our animals humanely and holistically no matter how much they try to kick over the milking pail, knock over their food, scream bloody murder for no reason, or give us dirty looks. even though that last one breaks my heart. Sigh.
I learned how to keep things natural on the farm from my friend, Jill Winger of The Prairie Homestead. She incorporates some great practices and natural products to keep it nice n’ natural on the farm. If you think about raising food right in your backyard, you need those animals to be chemical-free. That’s the only want to be sure your food is chemical-free.
When it comes to insects, especially flies, it’s good to use a homemade fly spray with no chemicals. And BONUS, making your own is cheaper than conventional sprays!
This Homemade Fly Spray uses a combination of apple cider vinegar and essential oils, because I’m all natural and stuff.
Essential oils are the oils found in the bark, stem, root, and leaves of plants. They are 50-70 times more powerful than herbs. So yeah, a couple drops can go a long way.
Homemade Fly Spray Recipe
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- 1 cup of apple cider Vinegar (here’s where I buy apple cider vinegar)
- 1 cup water
- 20 drops of the best repellent blend, called TerraShield. It’s a mix of essential oils that are best for repelling pests!
TERRASHIELD OIL ADD TO CART (free shipping)
What the heck is the Repellent blend? Well my friend, I shall tell you. It’s a blend of the essential oils Skimmia Laureola, Catnip Plant, Amyris Bark, African Sandalwood, Cabrueva Balsam, Wild Orange Peel, White Fir Needle, Cedarwood, Citronella Herb, Eucalyptus Leaf/Stem, Hawaiian Sandalwood, Genet Absolute, and Rose Flower in a base of fractionated coconut oil.
I mean, you could buy all those essential oils separately and all. But ain’t nobody got time for that! I have goats to milk and blog posts to write!
Directions: Mix both ingredients in a 16 oz. spray bottle. Spray 2-3 times per day on your animal, avoiding the eyes. Spray right before milking to deter flies and stop that dang animal from kicking. Keep the spray stored in the fridge.
Easy as 1, 2, 3.
This is why I love essential oils. They have so many uses and they are extremely effective in what they do. I love ’em so much I want to marry them. Sorry, husband. Scoot over and make room for these essential oils.
I especially love the smell of Terrashield. It smells like a combination of vanilla and a tropical rain forest to me. I’ve never been to a tropical rain forest, but that’s what I imagine it would smell like. Just livin’ the dream over here, smelling an essential oil bug repellent blend and pretendin’ I’m on vacation.
Other ways I use the Repellent blend:
- I mix the Repellent blend in a spray bottle with water, and I’ve got the perfect bug spray. Mosquitoes can’t stand the smell. Bye bye, ticks. I love it.
- I use that same spray bottle and spray around the doors of my home to keep out roaches, ants and spiders. Although I don’t mind spiders, they eat other bugs. Which is awesome.
- I use that same spray bottle and spray on the shelves of my pantry to keep away weevils.
- I mix 20 drops of the Repellent blend in my favorite natural garden pest control solution to keep away aphids, caterpillars, slugs, and snails in my vegetable garden!
- I rub 2 drops of the Repellent blend on my dog’s collar to keep away fleas, ticks and chiggers.
- BONUS: If your kid gets lice, or if it’s going around the school, you can use 5 drops in a regular shampoo to support a healthy scalp.
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Bingo! Thanks for the advice, Danelle! We’ll have to try it out.
So I have seen on line that certain flies like Apple cider vinegar because of its fruity flavour in it wouldn’t that create a bigger problem?
Hi Jaunita-
I assume you mean fruit flies. And yes they are attracted to ACV, in fact you can set little bowls of it out to attract and trap them.
However, with the EOs in this it will not be something they will like. I hope that helps! Thank you-Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
No because of the prominent vinegar base it will still keep the flies away. I’m not saying it will keep them away forever though… you still have to spray more than once normally. You can also use regular vinegar and white vinegar if you want.
Will this work for biting goat lice? Would it be helpful to add a squirt of dish soap as a binding agent?
Hi Melanie-
Yes, it can work for biting lice. I am not sure about the dish soap. If you are trying to create a shampoo/wash for the goat, then yes I would expect that to work. Just know dish soap can be very drying and harsh on animals, so do not use too frequently and do not leave on their skin. I found using Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap seems do well and is nontoxic.
I hope this helps! Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Hi there, You have done an incredible job. I’ll certainly digg it and for my part suggest to my friends.
I’m sure they’ll be benefited from this web site.
We have a Ranch in Arizona 🙂 and I love the blog here ! Our Ranch is almost Chemical Free 🙂 I just want to make sure that this is also able to be used on dogs cats and other livestock is there any that this should Not be used on Thank YOu
Should be fine on all!
You probably shouldn’t just glibly answer, “should be fine…” MANY EOs are toxic, even deadly, to cats. All it takes is a Google search, people. https://www.essentialoilhaven.com/which-essential-oils-are-toxic-to-cats/
I have a question. When I select “where to buy” for the replant blend it just kicks me back up to the top of your article it does not show me where to purchase it. I would really like to try it we have so many flying insects that I would love to see if this would help with.
Thank you so much.
So sorry about that, Linda! It’s fixed now!
We just learned about your favorite brand last month and were told about this product. Just ordered it and can not wait to try it for our horses. Nothing seems to work on our horses here in PA. Hope this works. My main question is can you double this recipe or would you only make this small batch at a time to prevent it from loosing its powerful kick to combat bugs? How often does it have to be applied? we literally have tried everything else and my daughter horse is allergic to some products but seems to do better with natural products.
Hi there, all the time i used to check web site posts here early in the break of day, because i enjoy to find out more and more.
Thanks for the fly recipe. I am also adding Neem oil to mine. I use diatomatious earth, food grade in my chicken coop and on the barn floor, as well as the piles of Alpaca poop I haven’t gotten to yet. It really cuts down on the flies reproducing.
Once the diatomatious earth gets wet/moist it no longer kills insects. Just FYI.
Do you have one in powder form for flys or can I use bakeing powder with the oils? My dogs dnt like the wet spray.
Hi Jamie, I only have a spray at this time:)
I do not want to go into business making all kinds of products with essential oils. I just want to buy one or 2 kinds. I have been reading and clicking on your site for a half hour or more and cannot find where I can purchase any oils without spending $275 (which does not have the one I am looking for) or $500. If I had either amount, I would be out purchasing a new hot water heater as mine is trying real hard to die. Do you sell individual bottles of the oils? Thank you.
Thanks for the feedback Linda! I’ll make sure to put some more info up about purchasing a few oils
Where do i buy the essential oils and how much are they…..?
Hi Renee! You can go to this page here to purchase! https://www.weedemandreap.com/essential-oils-menu
We have a serious fly issue around our chicken yard. Is a spray like this safe to use around chickens?
Absolutely!
Do you have any video of that? I’d care to fiind out more details.
I just ordered some Terrashield today and am looking forward to using it all over the farm! Thrilled!!!
Awesome! You’ll love it!
What happens if I forget to put the fly spray in the fridge for a while? By the way, I am loving this stuff! It is working great!!!
I did the same and I think it’s okay room temp, but out in the summer heat, it will start to smell and go bad a bit:)
Hi there, I live in HOT HOT HOT Scottsdale, AZ and the last time I used this spray on the leaves of my fig bushes and fruit trees, the heat burned the leaves and almost killed my plants (even though I sprayed at night). I am wondering if I could add it to the ground and have them soak it up the root system? Any thoughts? It worked so well where I last lived, I really want to use it again.
Hi Shelly,
This recipe is more for pets and not for plants. Because of the high acidity in the vinegar, I think it would cause some problems to the plants.
Could you tell me how you’re making white vinegar?
Does this bother bees? We have bees, and I don’t want to do ANYTHING to hurt them. Bees are in grave danger right now as it is.
No, we still have plenty of bees flying around!
I’m assuming it was sarcasm but the “Anyway, I don’t care about bees right now” comment really irked me. Perhaps I’m feeling overly sensitive today but I won’t be sharing this.
I meant it as “bees don’t bother me” or “I’m not bugged by bees like I am flies”. It was meant in good fun. Chillax, yo’.
Try this neat trick. Hang a sandwich/quart size lip lock bag 1/2 full with water & a few pennies anywhere you’re affected and it scares them away as they see their reflection. Genius
Didn’t work for me.
When I don’t want flys to land ,I use a spray of peppermint water.just crush peppermint leaves into water and spray from a mist . Smells nice too
Ugh! Flies drive me crazy during the summertime! I’m so glad I’m getting the Terrashield in my LRP order this month. I will definitely be making this awesome fly spray. Thanks for sharing!
ACV can also be added directly to their water. It keeps their blood in an alkaline state which keeps the animal healthy, but flies bite less often because they don’t like the taste of the blood. Our ratio for chickens & pigs is 1/3 cup ACV in a 5-gallon water tank. For cattle it’s 2 gallons ACV in a 300-gallon tank. Wick’s sells ACV in bulk and delivers right to your door.
The humans in our house drink equal parts ACV & raw honey every day. There’s a jug sitting on the pantry shelf with 4 cups ACV & 4 cups raw honey mixed thoroughly. It stays suspended and needs no refrigeration. Keep away from sunlight or direct heat. Pour 2 – 4 T. of the mix in a 16-oz. glass and fill with water.
Paula, would you give it to sheep? I’m so happy to see your post here!