Post by Lannie on Jul 22, 2008 8:56:07 GMT -5
I'd be real careful using the "regular" DE anywhere around the animals. It's been heat treated to make larger, sharper crystals, and they'll do quite a bit of damage internally if they're inhaled. Just in case nobody told you that...
I mixed up a batch of that vinegar/water/Dawn mixture yesterday to try it out, but I don't have any Dawn, so I used my cheap lemon store-brand dish liquid. I just made a sample batch in a hand-held sprayer, so it was hard to hit the bigger flies, but all those little ones swarming the poops and wet spots dropped immediately. I wasn't sure if they were actually dead or just too wet to fly, so I went out a little later and there were definitely less of them, so I guess the cheap stuff works, too. I'm going to get some Dawn anyway, just to see if it works better, then I'll load up my garden sprayer and spray down the barn.
I did spray some of that concoction on my mare, Aiesha, just because she was handy, and she usually stands still for stuff like that, and it was way too funny. Apparently, she got some in her nose (it was pretty breezy, and I was spraying, so it was dispersing), and when I was done, she walked off and snorted LOUDLY for about 5 minutes. It did seem to keep the flies off her for a while, but a few hours later, she was swishing and stomping again. That's OK, I can keep using the orange oil on the animals, and if this other stuff works well to kill the flies in the barn, I should be good.
Thanks for sharing that recipe!
~Lannie
I mixed up a batch of that vinegar/water/Dawn mixture yesterday to try it out, but I don't have any Dawn, so I used my cheap lemon store-brand dish liquid. I just made a sample batch in a hand-held sprayer, so it was hard to hit the bigger flies, but all those little ones swarming the poops and wet spots dropped immediately. I wasn't sure if they were actually dead or just too wet to fly, so I went out a little later and there were definitely less of them, so I guess the cheap stuff works, too. I'm going to get some Dawn anyway, just to see if it works better, then I'll load up my garden sprayer and spray down the barn.
I did spray some of that concoction on my mare, Aiesha, just because she was handy, and she usually stands still for stuff like that, and it was way too funny. Apparently, she got some in her nose (it was pretty breezy, and I was spraying, so it was dispersing), and when I was done, she walked off and snorted LOUDLY for about 5 minutes. It did seem to keep the flies off her for a while, but a few hours later, she was swishing and stomping again. That's OK, I can keep using the orange oil on the animals, and if this other stuff works well to kill the flies in the barn, I should be good.
Thanks for sharing that recipe!
~Lannie