# Repellent for dogs (Biting flies)



## mike (Jul 6, 2007)

I live in upstate New York, a heavily wooded area with many deer and other wildlife. I have a black lab/Shepard mix that I recently adopted a month ago. She has very fine to no hair on her underbelly. The deer flies have been attaching themselves to her in this area and she has received a few bites resulting in welts. My vet recommended an expensive repellent that is in a cream form that is not practical to apply and messy. Does anyone have a product that they know of that is similar to human repellent that I could spray before walking her that will not be messy and is convenient and easy to use? (Non oily)


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## redox (May 21, 2007)

I had a similar problem with mosquitoes. Most sources I have seen say DEET is dangerous for dogs, so I picked up an insect repellent made from lemon eucalyptus oil. I tried it on myself and it seemed to work really well. It does have a strong odor and made my dog sneeze a couple times, but I haven't seen anywhere that it is dangerous for a dog. Still, I'm a little cautious and only use it when I know I will be around a mosquito infested area. I have only tried it once or twice and applied it from my hand only to his back and stomach avoiding his head.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

I know of 3 different products you might try; 

The first is by Rio Vista, called Pet-So-Soft. It is a pesticide free spray that provides relief from flies, mosquitoes, fleas and ticks. It doesn't smell bad either. This is the one I use most of the time. I usually order this product from kvvet.com.

The other product is something I just discovered. It is by Eqyss. I found it in the horse supply section of my local Farmer's coop. It's called Marigold spray. It is pesticide free and repels flies, gnats and mosquitos. I like it because it's safe for human use as well. It's non-toxic, and alcohol free. I can use it on the boys and myself. I've not used it enough yet to have any opinion on it's effectiveness. I just wonder if smelling like marigolds (which it does) is going to attract bees  

The 3rd product is by Farnum and is called Flies Off! It's been around a long time and is a usually available in pet stores or grain stores. It's often used to prevent flies from landing on open wounds. It comes in cream and spray form.

None of these products is oily. 

Hope this helps


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

I use Marigold Spray made by EQyss. (www.eqyss.com)


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

poodleholic said:


> I use Marigold Spray made by EQyss. (www.eqyss.com)


I recently purchased this product. I'm wondering what your opinion is? Does the smell of Marigolds attract bees?


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

Renoman said:


> I recently purchased this product. I'm wondering what your opinion is? Does the smell of Marigolds attract bees?


Hmmm. Not that I've ever noticed. We do have wasps that keep coming back, despite destroying their nests, but they were around a decade or more prior to my use of the Marigold spray.


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

Renoman- I think the product you listed is similar if not the same I use to use when I lived in the city in a neighbor that was really bad for bitting flies etc. It sure did work! A friend of mine uses " skin so soft" deluted she sprays on her dogs- but it was an oily effect. The one I was using worked great.


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## luv4gsds (Jul 27, 2006)

> Does anyone have a product that they know of that is similar to human repellent that I could spray before walking her that will not be messy and is convenient and easy to use?


You can look into neem oil spray made by Ark Naturals. There are others out but some of them have Citronella added to them.


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