Can you tell I can't wait for spring??  Here's a fly spray recipe I started using last summer, and I was pleased with its overall effectiveness.  It's also pretty cheap and all natural!

6 capfuls of Avon Skin-so-Soft
1 cup of white vinegar
1 good squirt of liquid Ivory soap
Fill the rest of the bottle w/water

I used an empty standard size fly spray bottle (32 oz). 

Shake it a little before spraying. The water & the oil seperates when left sitting for a while.

This does work good too:

Water, Citronella and vinigar mixed, it stinks to high heaven but works a treat especially against mosquitos.

Or Benzolin Benzoate....great to keep flies off a horse with sweet itch and aids in preventing the irritation or aiding in healing.

I've used this before and it works pretty well.  The dish soap won't make them itchy.  Just be sure to use a little bit.  If you use to much dish soap, I've found that it will get a gummy feel on the horse's coat if they are out in the sun.  Lemon dish soap works really well because bugs hate the smell of lemons.

Whats up with the Avon Skin So Soft? What does it have in it that helps with flys? I'm just wondering. Also, can you get it at a local store or do you have to order it from Avon?

 I am going to try this. My cot is allergic to chimical fly sprays so last year I used a Marigold Natural Fly Spray. It worked and smelled really gooood but it only lasts an hour or two so you would have to be spraying it all day long. Plus, it's exspencive ($20 a bottle).

I ordered the Springtime Bug Off Garlic this year and just started my colt on that. I will let you know in a few weeks once it builds up in his system how well it works to keep the bugs off him.

I sure like the smell of the garlic over fly sprays. I like garlic :) Muffin seems to not have a problem with eating it but it did give him a little mushy poo that is starting to firm back up after the first few days of feeding it. He just needed to get used to it.