Flies seem to be everywhere this time of year. Some people prefer to use homemade fly traps. What if you want to simply repel flies instead of trapping them after they’ve already become a nuisance?
I was out at a local farm just yesterday and the flies were very noticeable and quite annoying as I went about my work. Seeing all those flies reminded me of a simple, non-toxic, and very effective fly repellent that I observed in action at one of my children’s field trips a couple of months ago.
The class was visiting a petting farm with a large open barn where donkeys, horses, goats, and other livestock were available for the children to observe and interact with.
Despite so many animals in a small semi-enclosed area, there were no flies buzzing around! Curious, I asked the owner about this, and he pointed to the heavy-duty plastic bags partially filled with water hanging over every stall.
He explained that a clear bag of water with a penny at the bottom would repel the flies very effectively. He went on to explain that the “eye” of a fly is actually hundreds of eyes and the reflection of light on the bag of water keeps them away.
“Why the penny at the bottom of the bag?”, I asked.
Grandpa the farmer answered that he wasn’t exactly sure but the penny did seem to increase the effectiveness of the hanging bag of water alone. He added that he didn’t know how many square feet each bag covered so he just put a bag over every animal stall to keep as many flies away as possible.
He also had put up a few bags over the picnic area and it was so nice to be able to eat lunch without flies swarming everywhere!
Note that the clearer the water, the more effective this trick is. If you use rusty well water, it won’t work as effectively as ultra clean and clear filtered water.
Try this fly repellant method for yourself! If you do, please check back and let us know how it worked for you!
Fly Repellent Only Works for Flies
Please note that this fly repellent trick only works for flies, not mosquitoes, and other insects. It also works very well for flies in the Southern United States. However, it may not work as well for flies from other geographical areas such as blowflies in Australia.
If you need to repel other insects like mosquitoes, ticks, or horse flies, this article on natural herbal insect repellent can help.
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The baggie with water trick works. Now, as for mosquitoes, I eat lots of garlic, in most everything i cook, I also take garlic pills. I haven’t been bothered by skeeters in ages.
Garlic is also good for you, it helps circulation, among other things.
I guess Arizona flies are nearsighted. They don’t seem to pay any attention to the bags of water (and pennies) I have stapled over my door.
I’ve never tried it myself, but my neighbor has one above her front door. My husband and I have been wondering why… Now we know 🙂 thanks!
Does anyone have an effective method of fly repellent for horses? My rescue guys are in agony with the mobs of biting flies on them. I’ve tried Pyrahna(ms) & other chemical sprays that last all of 5 mins. before the flies attack again. I hate knowing that are being eaten up & nothing seems to work. Garlic & other natural ingredients have not helped either. Help. BTW, our pastures border a cattle ranch… Any input or ideas will be appreciated.
I use “Mosquito Halt” repellant…works the best for me.
skin so soft original bath oil by Avon works and is recommended by vets in this area.you use a mixture of 5 parts water to 1 part oil but can be used stronger up to full strength. Also works on people and works great for gnats and no-see-ums.
Try Bug-off for Horses.
http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/bug-off-garlic-horses
Flies and Horses? I live in Corona CA in a rural area but only a few miles to major freeway and town. we live on 20 acres out here and we use this product called Spalding Fly Predators. telephone # is 1-877-314-3785 or you can go to http://www.fly-predators.com and enter your zip code and read the comments of customers in your area using it. It works great. we start it in April and end in Oct, give or take a month and get the 5,000 predators a month. Just sprinkle the bag after the eggs hatch and I swear it works. I don’t have horses, instead I have 3 golden retrievers & a potbelly pig. Plus you get a bonus bag every 5th month. the 6th month I would get 10,000 predators, 5,000 of them are free. Order 9 months and you get 2 bonus bags. 20.00 a month for the 5,000 bag. Those little predators will land on our dog poop and in a couple hours the poop is dust. another web address for more in is [email protected]. I highly recommend it for horses which it is for but great with other animals.
When we had livestock and did some trail riding we always wiped the horses and other livestock the we could with a strong vinegar/water solution. It seemed to help repel especially the flies on our horses and other treated livestock.
I used quart sized ziplock bags. Squeeze all the air out, then cinch up the top in your hand. Wrap twin our cotton string around the bag several times and tie off, leaving a long tail. Now it’s ready to hang. Our back yard is 50’x55′ and three bags do the trick. Works like a charm. Looks funny but a great conversation piece.
I tried this last year around my goat yard and backdoor and it didn’t help at all. 🙁
The copper in the penny is antibacterial and is what stops the algae from growing. Don’t know if the water bag works, if refracted light works then a prism would do the same thing …you know the cute little cut glass shapes that are like clear suncatchers.
Thanks so much for this article, I am posting it today to my free facebook group called “Great American Seed Swap Project”, they will love this info!