The 10 Best Fly Sprays For Horses
Those pesky flies that won’t leave your horse alone must go! But with so many options on the market, choosing the best fly spray for horses may seem like a difficult task. Lucky for you, I’ve found (and tested) the 10 best fly sprays currently available to make the decision easier!
You want to find effective fly repellents that will eliminate those nasty biting insects and keep your horse happy. But you also want to keep your horse safe while warding off tiny, irritating pests. The best way to do this is with a spray that is fairly natural and highly effective.
1. Best For Flying Insects: Pyranha Wipe n’ Spray
- Type: Long-lasting, ready-to-use
- Protection against: Horse flies, mosquitoes, gnats, fleas, ticks
- Longevity: 10-14 days
Pyranha’s Wipe n’ Spray is an effective fly spray that is both an insecticide and a repellent, repelling flies and killing them. It’s easy to use and fairly safe for all horses. While it isn’t as effective against biting flies and insects, it’s good at repelling flies and killing them.
Just remember to avoid contact with the eyes, nose, and mouth when applying this product, which can easily be wiped over the rest of the body.
Pyranha Wipe n’ Spray contains citronella, which gives it a pleasant fragrance upon application and helps to repel flies. It also contains lanolin, which helps to give a beautiful shine to your horse’s coat. As it’s water-resistant, it offers long-lasting protection for your horse, even if they sweat or get wet due to humidity and rain.
2. Best For Longevity: Absorbine UltraShield EX Insecticide And Repellent
- Type: Weatherproof, contains sunscreen
- Protection against: Mosquitoes, tickets, flies, gnats
- Longevity: Can last up to 17 days
Horse flies don’t stand a chance against Absorbine UltraShield EX Insecticide and Repellent, which both repels and kills flies. The active ingredients include permethrin, pyrethrins, piperonyl butoxide, methoxychlor, and carbaryl – a concoction that is guaranteed to say “Bye-bye flies”!
Another big advantage of this fly spray for horses is that it is both water- and sweat-resistant, which are two factors that help its long-lasting features.
Compared to most of its competitors, it also contains something that the others don’t – sunscreen and coat conditioners, such as aloe and lanolin. This ensures that your horse’s coat remains in tip-top condition while also warding off those pesky flies.
3. Best General-Purpose Natural Fly Spray: Absorbine UltraShield Green Fly Repellent
- Type: Made from essential oils
- Protection against: Mosquitoes, ticks
- Longevity: Up to eight hours
Absorbine UltraShield Green is a natural fly repellent that contains active ingredients such as thyme, cedar, and lemongrass.
Because it’s made with natural ingredients, it doesn’t last as long as some others on my list and isn’t water- or sweat-resistant. On the flip side, it’s perfect for more sensitive horses as the raw ingredients are gentle on your horse’s skin. However, it’s always a good idea to do a small test patch on your horse first to ensure that it’s compatible with their skin sensitivity.
4. Best For Barrier Coating: EcoVet All-Natural Fly Repellent
- Type: Natural fly repellent spray
- Protection against: Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, lice
- Longevity: Up to three days
EcoVet Fly Repellent Spray is made from natural fatty acids and silicone oil. It’s a very safe-to-use horse fly spray that can even be used on your pregnant mare. Sensitive horses will also find this fly spray quite mild, as it won’t necessarily cause skin irritation.
The way it works is simple. The fatty acids create an oil barrier that insects can’t land on and that is water-resistant. In addition to protection from insects, the oils also condition your horse’s coat – a great bonus! If you’re looking for a non-toxic insect repellent, this is the perfect product for your horse.
5. Best For Safety: Pyranha Nulli-Fly Water-Based Insecticide
- Type: Water-based fly repellent spray
- Protection against: Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, fleas, ticks, lice
- Longevity: Up to 12 hours
Pyranha Nulli-Fly Fly Repellent Spray for horses is a highly effective and fast-acting fly spray. It also lasts up to 12 hours, so it requires less frequent applications.
As a pyrethrum-based fly spray, it’s a natural insect repellent that is specifically safe for your horse. In fact, it’s arguably one of the safest fly repellents on the market! If your horse accidentally chews on this insecticide, it’s metabolised ultra-fast, leaving your horse safe and sound.
Pyranha Nulli-Fly is both long-lasting and eco-friendly, making it one of the top choices when it comes to fly sprays.
6. Best For Water Resistance: Farnam Endure Sweat-Resistant Fly Repellent Horse Spray
- Type: Sweat-resistant spray
- Protection against: Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, lice
- Longevity: Up to 14 days
Farnam Endure Sweat-Resistant Fly Repellent Horse Spray is a great choice for repelling flies. It’s long-lasting and only needs reapplication every two weeks. The best part is that it wards off those nasty flying and biting insects even while your horse is sweating.
This pyrethrin-based fly spray, which is a natural insecticide, kills bugs, flies, and other pesky flying insects. Horse owners won’t have to worry about deer flies, stable flies, or even house flies anymore with this one!
On an even brighter note, the special ingredient in this horse fly spray is Repelock conditioner. This conditioner helps make the fly spray last longer while conditioning your horse’s hair.
7. Best For Price: Farnam Bronco Equine Fly Spray
Type: Water-based repellent spray with citronella
Protection against: Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, lice
Longevity: Up to 12 hours
Bronco Equine Fly Spray is an affordable alternative to some of the other horse fly sprays on the market. However, it’s still as effective and long-lasting, making it great value for money.
Bronco Equine Fly Spray is a water-based fly repellent that contains citronella, which is the active ingredient that wards off biting insects while smelling great. Being water-based and non-greasy also means that it protects your riding gear from oil stains.
It’s a very versatile product that’s a perfect choice for horse owners to get rid of nuisance flies both on their horses and in their stables.
8. Best For Sensitive Horses: Farnam Repel-Xp Emulsifiable Fly Spray
Type: Concentrated solution
Protection against: Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, lice
Longevity: Up to 14 days
Farnam Repel-Xp Emulsifiable Fly Spray is a concentrated solution that can be diluted. When diluted, the 16 oz bottle can make up to 128 oz of finished product. While this may not be a ready-to-use product, it’s great in terms of cost savings.
As a pyrethrin-based spray, it’s low in toxicity and eco-friendly – perfect for horses with sensitive skin. It also contains piperonyl butoxide, which is an ingredient that makes the pyrethrins more effective.
This long-lasting and water-resistant spray can be used to spray down stables as well. This will get rid of all the other biting insects that are lurking in the shadows.
9. Best For Use Around Other Animals: Absorbine FLYS-X Ready-To-Use Insecticide
- Type: Water-based, natural spray that is safe to use around other animals
- Protection against: Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, lice
- Longevity: Up to seven days
This ready-to-use fly spray needs no dilution and contains pyrethrins, making it a more natural option for your horse. It is also water-based and non-greasy, which is great for fabrics and your horse’s coat. Best of all, it’s a fairly affordable fly repellent that is safe for horses and other animals you may have but dangerous for horse flies.
10. Best For Gentleness: Eqyss Natural Fly Repellent Spray
- Type: Natural ingredients and can be used on horse bedding and blankets
- Protection against: Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks, lice
- Longevity: Up to 7 hours
Eqyss Natural Fly Repellant Spray contains ingredients like citronella, geranium, cedarwood, and lemongrass. Not only does it contain natural ingredients, but it is also pH-balanced, making it extra gentle on your horse’s skin.
These natural ingredients also have a very pleasant smell, making it great for horse owners who are sensitive to chemicals.
Choosing The Best Fly Repellent Spray For Your Horse
Bites from flies and ticks are the worst for your horse. Either they cause sweet itch, or they hurt. A lot. Flying and biting insects can be alarming to horse owners. And on top of that, there are such a wide variety of flies – stable flies, deer flies, house flies, and face flies.
Flies can cause painful bites, and ticks can cause illness by transmitting diseases like Lyme disease, dysentery, equine infectious anaemia, and pink eye. Worse than this is a fly strike, when flies lay their eggs on the animal’s skin.
Bites are painful and the distress they can cause can affect your horse’s performance. An irritable horse is not a happy horse, and if your horse is being irritated by insects, it may underperform.
Choosing the best insect repellent is important to ward off these irritating creatures and keep your horse safe and comfortable.
Key factors to consider when choosing a fly spray
- How effective is the horse fly repellent?
- Is the fly repellent safe and easy to use in your horse’s environment?
- How long does a single application of fly spray last?
- Is it water-resistant?
- How much will it cost?
Let’s take a look at some of the best repellent sprays out there.
Other Measures To Consider
When it’s fly season, you may want to institute additional fly control measures to ward off stable flies and other biting insects. For occasions like this, you may opt to use stronger sprays.
Horse owners can make use of a DEET-based product, like the Carr & Day Martin FlyGard Extra Strength Insect Repellent. And, because it’s water-resistant, it works well in humid conditions as well. Applying Carr & Day Martin Flygard is easy- simply spray it on your horse and let it do its magic.
Another option is a PMD-based product, like Barrier Super Plus. As a pyrethrin-based fly spray, Barrier Super Plus is long-lasting, water-resistant, and biodegradable. The nice part about it is that it is safe for pregnant mares. It can also be sprayed in the stables and barn to repel flying insects.
In the warmer months, a summer fly cream may also do the trick to ward off those annoying flying insects.
You could also hang fly traps and invest in some fly masks for your horses. Fly masks are great at keeping face flies at bay because the mesh keeps the flies away from their eyes and noses.
Oil- Or Water-Based Insect Repellent?
When choosing a fly spray for horses, you need to consider whether you want an oil- or water-based repellent. Oil-based sprays are typically more effective than water-based sprays, but they have their downfalls. They are greasy and can damage your clothing.
Water-based insect repellents are less greasy, but you would need to frequently reapply the spray if you have a sweaty horse or one that has been swimming.
Natural Fly Repellents
You may prefer to make use of totally natural products. These are generally safe to use and have no harmful effects on your horse.
Here are a few DIY tips for natural insect repellents. All you need are the special ingredients, water, and a spray bottle. Mix, shake, and spray!
- Use essential oils. Natural essential oils can act as insect repellants. Citronella is one of the best choices, but you could also use tea tree oil, lavender oil, peppermint oil, or eucalyptus oil as well.
- Neem oil is a natural insect repellent and insecticide. It’s used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine and is safe for humans and horses.
- Witch hazel, lemongrass, and crushed and strained garlic water are also effective ingredients that you can use when making a home remedy fly spray.
To make your repellent, mix a few drops of your choice of ingredient with a carrier oil, such as coconut oil. Or, for a water-based solution, mix it with water and apply it using a spray bottle.
FAQs
Are natural fly sprays for horses effective?
Yes. Essential oils are strong enough to mask the horse’s scent, so flies and other insects are less likely to find their target. Many of the ingredients are also natural insecticides, so they can both repel and kill flying insects. A bonus is that they’re generally safe, even for pregnant and nursing mares.
How often should I apply repellent spray to my horse?
Most repellents are best applied every six to eight hours. However, it’s best to familiarise yourself with the manufacturer’s guidelines, as some repellents last for over two weeks. If your horse has been hard at work, sweating, or swimming, it may be time for a re-application of the repellent.
