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Discussion on Mosquito problem
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Jul 4, 2005 - 3:52 pm:
We are experiencing one of the wettest springs/early summers on record. My 80 year old father remembers only 3 other years like this one. There is water standing everywhere and in every hollow or dip in the land. The lawns simply cannot absorb any more so there is water standing even in the mowed yard grass.
Mosquitos have never been this big or this bad in my entire lifetime that I can remember. Dirt paddocks, which are usually relatively 'bug free' zones for the horses are quagmires of greasy muck where the mosquitoes thrive. Until they dry up, it's not even a safe environment for the horses, let alone a comfortable one.
Pastures are thick and high, the horses can't keep them grazed low enough (usually a welcome problem) but this year the long lush pastures are also harboring trillions of mosquitos. The rains have been all too frequent to mow them and the forecasters are telling us more rain tonight. It seems as though it's either feast or famine in this country (rain or DrOught)..no happy medium.
Of course we have vaccinated for WNV but it is the comfort of the horses from dusk until dawn that is most troubling to me. Commercial horse mosquito sprays do not effect much or any relief, I think the mosquitoes have developed a resistance to a lot that were effective in the past.
The blood sucking critters are so bad that we have to resort to putting the horses in the barn at night between 8 p.m. until 10 p.m., we spray them with Deep Woods or Croc Block (contain Deet) before turning them out.
We attempted to build a smudge last night around 10, but we're not having much luck keeping it going. Does anyone know the best way to build a smudge to keep it going for longer periods of time?
What we are doing right now is building a fire using dry wood in a heavy iron tub, about 3' in diameter. Once there are red hot coals in the bottom we are putting in wet/soiled straw. This creates nice white smoke but it doesn't last long enough. We can't stand there all night stoking the smudge. Of course we have an iron grate on top to keep the horses noses out of the fire. Last year however my TWH greeted me in the morning with a very cute criss-cross tatoo on his nose!!!
If someone knows of a better, more effective way to build a smudge, I'd sure be happy to hear it.
What does everyone else out there do when the mosquitos are big enough and plenty enough to carry their horses away?
Putting fly sheets or blankets on them is not an option...we have too many horses to do that and these are horses that live outside 24/7 in all types of weather and I'm not sure during mosquito season is the best time to accustom them to something new, they're having a hard enough time coping with the bugs.
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Member:
Jojo15
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Posted on Monday, Jul 4, 2005 - 5:59 pm:
At first read i said to myself you must be in Florida. 30 days of nonstop rain here, too. And much the same circumstances. I have little blood spots of where my mare had been bitten by certain flies. and she is bumpy all over. and constantly itching and rubbing areas raw.
Deet really scares me. Do you spray this often?
As for smudge... doesn't manure burn well and long? any way to soak it with something to make it burn longer? Sorry i can't help i have only an acre to worry about and i bought a few of those mosquito repellants that attach to a propane tank. It supposed to give an acre of relief. But, i can only imagine how much worse off my horse would be without it. Any way that you can contain them all in a few acres? and then get some of these? I do notice a difference.
joj
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Jul 4, 2005 - 6:06 pm:
Hi Jojo,
We only use Deet when we're trail riding as a rule and only when we think the bugs are going to be excessively bad. Usually by the time we're done our trail ride the repellant has sweat off of them and in the event that it hasn't, we always hose the horses off after a ride anyway, especially if they've been covered with repellant, Deet or otherwise.
I'm not sure I've ever heard of the kind that attaches to a propane tank. We can confine them to a one acre paddock. Does it really work???? Tell me more. Where do you get them, what are they calle
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Member:
Eoeo
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Posted on Monday, Jul 4, 2005 - 9:46 pm:
We started putting bug zappers up two years ago and it helped tremendously. It didn't eliminate all of them but it sure did get most of them. I am just about ready to start running extension cords again and start them up here. We have several small ones placed strategically and have two large ones placed between the irrigation sump and the horses. Those puppies are zapping all night long. The little ones near the horses just zap occasionally. Be sure and place them away from the horses as they will draw the mosquitoes to them and you don't want them getting over by the horses. After the first few initial zaps, the horses settle down and don't pay any attention to them. EO
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Member:
Jojo15
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Posted on Monday, Jul 4, 2005 - 10:27 pm:
yep it works. I have 2 kinds. one plugs into an outlet but i don't know the brand name. it just looks like a regular zapper with a grill around it and a flourescent light. the other is i think made by coleman and is propane. Both were hand me downs from the previous owner. I should have taken the hint...grin.. but if you have power available in a one acre area research the newer ones that are on the market now. The newer ones are in the $300/range. And use magnetic technology, to get the bugs...
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2005 - 12:38 am:
Hi Sherri,
My gelding lives in a similar environment. I have not seen anything like this either!!! Commercial fly sprays that are supposed to last five days don't cut it. I have often wondered if this "Odd and Unusual" weather is not contributing to my geldings skin problems.
You could try some "Rocks" on top of the grate where you have the smudge going to keep the horses from nosing this off. I had to ask Laser what he was "Smoking" as I have seen his whiskers burned at the ends from getting too close to the smudge.
Fire is fire, and if you light one you should be prepared to babysit. It can get out of control very quickly. Try some fieldstone or shale from your area in the bottom of your burning bin for drainage stacked TeePee style and stoke your fire with moist material (Straw and fairly fresh manure). You might have to poke some holes in the burning bin for oxygen to keep this going.
Another alternative is to trench in some conduit to your paddocks for above said electrical appliances and use them when you have to. Could have a use in the winter as well.
I have not seen anything like this either Sherri. Pasture up to your armpits and humidity in the 80 to 90 percent range.
As for the "Greased Lighting" paddocks, you could try mowing a portion of the pasture, temporarily fence it off and pick up the cuttings. Put horses out on that.
Hope this helps  .
Susan B.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2005 - 8:40 am:
I think we finally got the smudge working properly. We've added 2 more barrels, I think the problem was that what we were using initially just wasn't big enough. Now they are, and it was pretty funny last night to see 5 horses huddled around 3 burning barrels.
They do have access to a 1 acre paddock that is mowed. The smudge barrels are not a problem, the problem is stoking them long enough to keep them smoldering. They were still smoldering this a.m. so I guess we might have that problem licked. As far as the rocks on the grate, did that too, the horses leave them alone pretty much now. I think they have figured out that these smoking barrels are their friends.
The mosquitos this a.m. were unbelievable but I know that as the day heats up they'll disappear into the grass.
Let's hope for a breeze. Things are drying up pretty good actually and there's no more rain in the forecast for the coming week, thank goodnes
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Member:
36541
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2005 - 8:44 am:
Hopefully all you guys can get a hold of the Mosquito Dunks, a little donut looking antilarval that you leave in the standing water areas. You can break them into quarters for the little puddles. I have used them regularly for three years now, and we don't have a significant mosquito problem compared to the summer when the horses came running up to the gate like mad creatures in a swarm of the blood-suckers. I can really attest to the improvement, and I do larval counts in my puddles that gives me real data. You can get the product at Lowes, and also the antilarval granules that kill the larvae in 24 hrs. I live on 50 acres in south AL that is below sea level so I can relate! Good Luck, Stacy
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2005 - 9:06 am:
Hi Stacy,
Interesting. I'll have to check it out. One method that is said to work is to pour canola oil into standing water. It goes to the edges of the standing water where the mosquitos breed and of course with the oil slick there, they can't. Nice thing about the canola oil is that it is environmentally friendly, the horses can still drink the water and who knows, their coats may even benefit from it.
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2005 - 9:30 am:
Here is a web address for the Mosquito Dunks that Stacy was talking about.
https://store.arbico-organics.com/organic-pest-control-most-requested-mosquito-co ntrol.html
The canola oil sounds interesting though.
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Member:
36541
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2005 - 9:09 pm:
Hmmm, interesting that the 6 pack on the web site is more expensive than Lowe's, but the twenty pack is a great deal! Thanks Sue, I'll be ordering from now on. Stacy
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 6, 2005 - 4:57 pm:
Has anyone ever heard of a recipe for mosquito repellant that contains vinegar and Dawn dish soap? There may be other ingredients. We were on a trail ride recently where a couple old boys driving a team swore by this recipe but of course I don't remember it now.
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 6, 2005 - 6:54 pm:
No, but I'd be interested in it. I can't use Avon's Skin-so-Soft because I'M very allergic to it.
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Member:
Shirl
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 6, 2005 - 10:50 pm:
I've never heard of the vinegar and dish soap, but I have used a spray bottle of 1 C. of white vinegar, 1 C. of SSS bath oil, 1 C. water and about 2 T of lavendar or Eucalyptus oil. It worked, but can be messy if in a dirt lot. Don't take much though. Sierra was horribly allergic to gnats, flies, etc. Hope this helps. Shirl
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 7, 2005 - 8:37 am:
Found the recipe.
For a homemade fly and mosquito spray, use 1 cup white distilled vinegar, 1 cup water, 1/3 cup Dawn dish washing liquid
It HAS to be DAWN soap, no substitutes - something in it I guess that's not in other soap???
A couple old timers' in our area swear by this recipe.
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Member:
Annes
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 11:35 am:
I tried this recipe over the weekend and am very pleased with the way it worked. The black flies have been terrible this year and even with a fly mask the flies would swarm on their nose and muzzle. The horses were constantly stomping and shaking their head. It had gotten to the point they would not leave the barn. The first day I used this recipe, they stayed in the field until 7PM without going to the barn. I observed them during the day and they grazed contentedly without fighting off flies. There were no flies crawling on their nose or body. The second day I sprayed some on their fly mask too. I rode several times over the weekend and I could see a great improvement. I hope this continues to work because I have tried so many different fly sprays that just do not work. I did re-apply each morning. It is almost too good to be true. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has tried this.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 11:50 am:
Ann, I am so pleased that you are having good results with the recipe. We had fairly strong winds over the weekend so bugs weren't much of an issue but we are definitely going to mix some up tonight and try it out. We've had numerous reports from our area in the success of this concoction. Like you say, some people can't believe how well it works. Great to hear you've had good results.
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Member:
Trouble
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 12:09 pm:
I am going to try this tonight. I am sick and tired of spending money out the wazoo for fly sprays that claim they work (they ALL claim they work, and some for 2 weeks! HA!) My poor gelding constantly has welts all over him from fly bites. I have tried virtually every fly spray made. I apply every morning by using an old sock and rubbing it against the hair like the directions say, but by the time I get home, he looks like he's been in a war. Poor thing. And you can forget about riding.
He's very sensitive and some of his bites get nasty and take awhile to heal. The mosquitos are not bad right now, but the flies are horrible. I have had it!! I am up for anything right now!!
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 12:48 pm:
Have you tried building a smudge Lisa? Even with the dish soap and vinegar concoction we will still bring the horses into their dirt paddock at night, build a smudge that will smolder all night - the horses love it and stand right in the smoke. We've finally got our smudges so that they will continue to smolder through the early morning hours too when the bugs are bad again.
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Member:
Eoeo
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 1:50 pm:
I am curious as tho what damage the smoke from the smudge pots do to the horses respiratory system if they are breathing it all the time? EO
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 2:07 pm:
Good question, I've wondered myself but have rationalized it this way:
I guess I wouldn't want them to have a steady diet of it, however, they usually stand with their backs to it and given the length of our summers here, we usually only need the smudges for a couple months and certainly not every night.
I guess it's no different than what we do to ourselves when gathering around a campfire which we do fairly often.
Been building smudges for our horses since I was a kid and haven't seen any problems.
When I do a risk analysis, to me, it's worth the risk given the relief it provides.
You raise an interesting point of discussion. I'd be curious to hear what others thin
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 4:35 pm:
I am off to buy some Dawn Liquid Detergent, water and vinegar I have at home. You will have to share Sherri, how you got your smudges to burn all night.
Susan B.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 4:59 pm:
Hi Susan,
I guess you'd have to ask the hubby, all I know is that he uses a regular sized burning barrel, (we build 3 smudges so 3 barrels), all have air holes punched in their sides at the bottom, he builds a good hot fire in about the bottom third of the barrels with dry wood (left over from house construction) and when it's really burning good with lots of red embers, he adds wet, but not saturated old used straw and lots of 'fresh' horse manure and just kind of forks things around until the smoke starts and then leaves it be. I think it might be the quantity that's in the barrels. Each one, when smoking is at least half to 3/4's full of material. It's a really good way to clean the paddocks too!
The horses totally leave them alone, except to stand in the smudg
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Member:
Ajudson1
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 6:53 pm:
Hi everyone,
I never heard of a fly repellant recipe with Dawn dish soap, but it makes sense you use concoctions like that on plants infested with bugs.
The recipe I use is white vinegar, 2 cups, and then I add some DrOps of Eucalyptus Oil, Tea Tree, Citronella, and Cedar Oil. Then I fill my sprayer with water. It's working somewhat, but doesn't last very long. I wonder if adding the Dawn to that mix would give it staying power? Hate to be a mad chemist here, but geez my horses suffer even inside.
I just got stung by a bee about 30 minutes ago and was searching in my books for treatment of stings. I ran across a paragraph about some Amazon repellant that had citronella, lavender and pennyroyal. Unfortunately the author didn't know if that was the whole recipe, but maybe someone has some ideas on it.
For those of you with all the grass, we are in a DrOught up here in the U.P., and it's been in the 90's!!! Heat, humidity, and bugs!!! Send some rain North please!! But keep the bugs.
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Member:
Jojo15
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Posted on Monday, Jul 11, 2005 - 9:41 pm:
I'm flooded! you can have the rest of my year's allotment on that one...
planting lavender around the barn helps too. i have it around the front of my house. And go to prairieland herbs.com they have all essential oils for lavendar. I use one of their bath products and noticed that the bugs would stay away when i used it. I just figured it was cause i was clean...LOL. Then i learned lavendar is a natural bug repellant. Maybe next i will try to dry the lavendar and make a collar for brandy...
I wonder if i could use dish soap as a bath on the horses...dogs, etc...
Dawn is awesome, i remember my grandmother using it for everything... to getting out stains, gum, and other concoctions. I wish i had paid attention when i was younger.
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 1:30 am:
Interesting about lavender, joj.
I confess I have never bought horse shampoo for my horses. I always used dish soap, and have more recently used Suave Green Apple Shampoo and Green Apple Conditioner. Makes the horses happy :-) I know Suave has a Lavender shampoo. I wonder how that would work?
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 8:55 am:
Angie,
I'd love to send you some of our rain. We had another thunder storm last night and another 3/10ths. It's supposed to hit about 90 here today so we'll likely get more rain tonight. Sorry to hear you're in a DrOught situation, we know what that's like, we've just come out of a 3 year DrOught in the past couple years. The water table here has recovered and then some, every low spot is now a slough (don't know if you use that terminology in the US...seems to me my Cape Cod Massachusetts born daughter-in-law never heard that one before...pronounced 'slew' - 'pond' I guess best describes a slough)
The Dawn solution is a 'freakin' miracle!!!! At least the mosquitos and flies where we live don't like it at all. I actually sprayed the concoction on myself before I went out on the lawn tractor last night, purposely dressed in shorts and tank top and was not 'bugged' by bugs at all...and I smelled pretty darn good too!!!! I detest the smell of most repellents.
As for the horses, the bugs were out there, you can see them in swarms, by the millions but the horses stood quietly munching their hay, not even swishing their tails. It's the most comfortable they looked in weeks and they still looked happy this a.m.
The only good thing about the horses staying 'on the move' to try and keep the bugs away is that they have managed to keep themselves in pretty good shape.
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Member:
Trouble
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 1:15 pm:
Sherri,
I will try the smudge. My hubby can probably handle this. I made the "dawn/vinegar" fly spray this morning. I was pleasantly surprised because I thought it would really stink. It doesn't smell too bad. I didn't notice the flies bothering my horse too much after I sprayed it, so the deciding factor will be what he looks like when I get home!
By the way, I love the fact that I can spray this on heavy, and not have to use rubber gloves to apply it in other areas (although it did make some "suds" when I rubbed it in on his neck and face  ) We are supposed to get a lot of rain for the next few days courtesy of Dennis, so I may not be able to judge its effectiveness yet.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 1:41 pm:
Hi Lisa,
I didn't think it smelled too bad either! And when I got in the shower...I didn't need to add soap!\clipart
{lol}
As for the horses, they'll be squeaky clean when 'Dennis' washes it all off!
Someone asked me if applying soap to their hides and leaving it on was a concern to me but I think the alternative is much worse (bites, bumps, etc). Besides, there's something in Dawn that supposedly makes it okay to do this.
At least when it's raining the bugs go away.
Hope it works for you!
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 2:31 pm:
Angie, let me send you a little rain  .
Sherri, should be interesting to locate the horses out in the pasture with the "Foam and Suds" coat on  .
Susan B.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 3:10 pm:
More like this I think Susan!
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 3:50 pm:
That is AWESOME!, Sherri; from last night perhaps. I didn't get a DrOp.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 4:03 pm:
No. The rain cloud last night wasn't quite so dramatic. This picture was taken from about 30 I have on file from the Alberta storms. If you'd like to see more of them I can email them to you. They are an unbelievable account of nature's fury.
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Member:
Ajudson1
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Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 5:59 pm:
Ladies,
Oh, I just love the look of that dark cloud!! It looks so cool and refreshing!! I just spent a few hours at "camp", my in laws house on the Escanaba River. It's so hot that even when I was snorkeling I was warm and didn't feel refreshed. And my daughters riding lesson this morning was not fun....it was hot already at 10, and the bugs were so bad the horse just wanted to go back to the barn and hide.
Yup, I know what a "slew" is, haven't heard that word in years. Up here, we have swamps more than "slews".
About the Dawn/vinegar combo: I did that mix up last night and added some citronella oil and Eucalyptus....I haven't had time to observe how well it worked, but I do know there was no bad reaction to that combo. That was my concern. I personally had a bad reaction myself useing one of the "spot" fly repellants that were supposed to last 14 days. I was outa commission for 14 days myself, remember these mixtures work by paralyzing the bugs central nervous system. I won't use them on my pets!! Of course I shouldn't of got the stuff on my hands.....
A word of CAUTION with the Dawn: My cement aisle got very slippery using the soap spray, so tonight I will do it outside.
Holly,
I use Rio Vista equine shampoo on my horses and dogs. Horses get a bath maybe once a year, dogs more often. It's very concentrated, and has natural essential oils in it that repel bugs and flies, as well as things that are good for skin conditions. I usually add some eucalyptus oil to the bottle for more "flea & bug" repellant power.
Off to do a rain dance.....
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005 - 12:39 am:
Angie,
A boarder here at the ranch was just showing me his bottle of Rio Vista Horse Shampoo yesterday. He found at a dollar store a different horse shampoo by Suavel and he was using that in comparison. Sounds as if the Dawn Fly Repellent can double as a horse shampoo, though. I'll have to try it on my guys here.
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Member:
Frances
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005 - 7:42 am:
Sherri - that approaching storm picture is WOOONDERFUL - though I'm glad I wasn't in its path!
Lynn
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Member:
Trouble
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005 - 3:31 pm:
Where can one buy the citronella and eucalyptus oils?
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Member:
Shirl
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005 - 5:51 pm:
Lisa, You can purchase the oils at any Health Food store. Good Luck, Shirl
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Member:
122756
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005 - 6:39 pm:
Are you sure that "cloud" isn't really a mosquito swarm?
Haha...it's a wonderful picture!
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Member:
Ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005 - 9:07 pm:
I buy my oils from the Vitaminshop.com, but I've also got them from our Health food store as well as GNC.
A correction about the Rio Vista Shampoo: besides the Peppermint oil in it, I don't think it is a fly/flea repellant, I guess that's why I add the eucalyptus to it. But it is good for skin problems and I like how our stinky little Jack Russell smells after his bath!! (he loves to roll in the horse piles) I use more of it on him than on the horses.
Egads, if that was a mosquito swarm instead of a storm cloud......well, we'd need a heckova big smudge pot!!!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 14, 2005 - 9:17 am:
Beautiful and slightly scary photo Sheri.
DrO
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Member:
Trouble
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 14, 2005 - 12:58 pm:
Thanks for the info.
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Member:
Chohler
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 14, 2005 - 1:31 pm:
Has anyone noticed how long the dish soap recipe is lasting on their horses? The flies and nats are horendous here, I would like a smudge but with allergies that is more than I can tolerate.
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Member:
Annes
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 14, 2005 - 4:39 pm:
I am spraying it on every AM when I put their fly masks on. It lasts all day - even my TB, who is much more sensitive, is comfortable. I mix it in a windex spray bottle and it lasts 2-3 days for 4 horses. I purchased a gallon jug of white vinegar to have on hand. This is so much cheaper than the fly sprays I used before and it works!
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 14, 2005 - 4:53 pm:
Hi Ann,
So glad to hear it's working for you and lasting. We're having similar results with its effectiveness, although it's been pretty breezy here for the last couple evenings so that would help too, but I agree totally...a whole heck of a lot cheaper!
Good old Saskatchewan cowboys knew what they were talking about I guess when they recommended it to me, I just wasn't smart enough to remember it...I'm glad I was able to find it.
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Member:
Annes
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 14, 2005 - 5:43 pm:
Sherri - I had recently tried the Avon Skin So Soft with water and it did not repel the flies at all..on me or the horses. So I was really glad when I read your post and it worked so well. Thanks so much for sharing it.
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New Member:
Golden
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Posted on Friday, Jul 15, 2005 - 12:19 am:
Use BOUNCE SHEETS just wipe it on you and your horse it works.
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Member:
Golden
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Posted on Friday, Jul 15, 2005 - 12:25 am:
SMUDGE, I built one last night just garbage on the bottom and I threw hollyhock green leaves plants ,leaves on the firre and that smudge lasted all night,and it wast covering th hole farm with the smoke.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Friday, Jul 15, 2005 - 12:05 pm:
I've heard about the bounce sheets but have never tried it! I guess I'll have to give it a try.
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Member:
Warwick
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Posted on Friday, Jul 15, 2005 - 12:42 pm:
With the Bounce sheets, are they right out of the box or do you have to wet them first?
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Member:
Chohler
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Posted on Friday, Jul 15, 2005 - 12:55 pm:
When skin so soft first came out my dad was a pipefitter working outdoors so they thought they would spray it on a hard hat and see what happened. In an hour it was black with our wonderful knats...smells good though.
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Member:
Trouble
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Posted on Friday, Jul 15, 2005 - 2:59 pm:
I have been spraying the dawn/vinegar solution in the morning and evening and my guys seem to be doing pretty well. I don't mind spraying twice daily, and since it's so cheap to make, who cares?
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Member:
Priscds
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 21, 2005 - 7:31 am:
I also tried this mix and my poor gelding must not agree with it, he has rubbed his self all over and removed his hair he looks like he has been through a war.I can not use the oil based sprays on him either he is very sinsitive i guess, I am going to try the bounce sheet and see if he can handle that
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 21, 2005 - 10:52 am:
I used this concoction for about 3 days. Though it kept the bugs off of them extremely well, it did affect 3 of my 5 horses. One gelding simply rolled himself silly everytime I used it on him. The other gelding did rub off a lot of his hair on his shoulders, I believe because this homemade fly spray makes his skin itchy, and my poor buckskin mare!! She is thin skinned to begin with and when the flies bite her you can see every little bite. The vinegar and soap I think stings her skin terribly where she's been previously bitten because she is the easiest horse to catch and since I used the fly spray she just takes off when she sees that blue bottle and has never reacted to sprays before but spins in circles when you try and spray this stuff on her.
So, conclusion is I guess it works for some horses but others will not tolerate it. I will continue to use it on the other 2 mares but we've also gone back to a smudge which in my mind has the best results, the horses literally languish in the smoke, tails hanging, no swishing and actually hang out around the barrels around 10 at night even if there is no smudge going ye
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Member:
Lilo
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 21, 2005 - 11:16 am:
Hi,
I tried the mixture for the first time last night, mostly on the legs. So far so good, but I will have to watch for any reactions, based on the posts above.
It is great to get all this instant feedback!
Lilo
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Member:
Annes
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 21, 2005 - 12:47 pm:
I've been using this almost 3 weeks now and still having good results. My TB is the sensitive one in my group of 4 and he hasn't had any reactions. I put more on him since the bugs bother him the most. My buckskin TWH gelding is the one who doesn't like the smell and tries to get away from me when he smells it. None of mine have any other reactions or rubbing from it. I put listerine on my other geldings' tail one day (which worked for itching) and he smelled like listerine and vinegar/soap that day!
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Member:
Paul303
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 24, 2005 - 2:27 am:
I used it and found it worked well, not as good as my Flysect 7, but a lot less expensive, and pleasant to use. My QH mare that has a lot of throughbred in her, and very sensitive skin, did very well with it. But my older foundation bred QH mare developed peely, skurfy skin on top of her neckline and top of her tail - and NOTHING bothers her skin. Go figure.
Anyway, my farrier comes last week. When he completed his work, he went in my tack room to wash up. "This soap?", says he, reaching for the gallon milk jug that I had mixed the Dawn, H2O and vinegar in....."uuuhh," I said, as he poured it over his hands......"Wow, what is that? It's great!" he asks enthusiastically.
"Hey!" I answer, " how about some lunch?"
Now I've begun washing up with it, and, you know, it DOES work pretty good.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Jul 25, 2005 - 9:16 am:
 That's hilarious Lee! Who knows how many uses the stuff has? What a good idea to keep it in the barn as a hand wash too! So...can't help but ask, what was for lunch??? Oats???
Interesting reaction that your older mare had - same type of scurfy, peeling reaction that my gelding experienced and he too usually doesn't have a problem with anything and is very tough skinned.
Fortunately, the weather's been cool and breezy here for the last few days and we haven't had to spray anything on the horses or build smudges. We can actually ride right now without having to soak ourselves in Deet
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