Black Flies - Homemade Repellant that WORKS!

[Cowgirl]

I love where I live. To me, it is a paradise. However, it is also on earth. So it has its issues, like every other little bit of paradise.

 

We have black flies here. Nasty, biting little flies. OUCH! I've never found a commercial repellent that really works against these persistent little devils. Sure, you can blast yourself with DEET, but they still seem to bite.

 

This year, I stumbled across an article about homemade black fly repellent. It is a very simple recipe.

 

One part vanilla extract + Three parts water.

 

I mix it up in a spray bottle and we spritz it on before heading outside to work. And, IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!! We do have to re-apply it when we are working hard, as sweat will remove it. So we re-spray when we come in for a hydration break or for lunch. But, it works!

 

So, if any of you are pestered by black flies, you may want to give this one a try!

[Ambergris]

My husband likes to carry travel-sized bottles of Scope and generic Scope for the yellowflies. We are now making a jar of catnip tincture to see how that works for him.