The flies are everywhere this Autumn - demonstrating how they evolved before us and will survive our Armageddon.
They are everywhere on the poor donkeys too, however, so I've had to mix up a fly repellent that works. This is an adaptation of a recipe from The Barn Equine Surgery, www.barnequine.co.uk, with the addition of a little piperine, extracted from black pepper.
Put 20g of whole black peppercorns into a tall sided pot. Add 150ml alcohol (from the pharmacist). Using a hand-held liquidiser, liquidise the pepper in the alcohol. Leave to stand, covered, for an hour. This will extract a little piperine, which will help to drive the flies away.
Mix up the other ingredients:
200ml Citronella Oil BP
120ml vinegar
30ml washing up liquid
450ml strong black tea
Pour the pepper and alcohol mixture into the other ingredients using a filter (I use a cloth filter) so that the pepper itself does not enter the mix. This is to help prevent the sprayer from getting clogged with pepper grounds.
Dilute up to three litres, with water.
Shake before use. Spray on the animal, avoiding the eyes and mouth. (And avoiding your eyes and mouth - this is, after all, pepper spray as used in self defence...)
They are everywhere on the poor donkeys too, however, so I've had to mix up a fly repellent that works. This is an adaptation of a recipe from The Barn Equine Surgery, www.barnequine.co.uk, with the addition of a little piperine, extracted from black pepper.
Put 20g of whole black peppercorns into a tall sided pot. Add 150ml alcohol (from the pharmacist). Using a hand-held liquidiser, liquidise the pepper in the alcohol. Leave to stand, covered, for an hour. This will extract a little piperine, which will help to drive the flies away.
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| Home chemistry. No naked flames, please |
Mix up the other ingredients:
200ml Citronella Oil BP
120ml vinegar
30ml washing up liquid
450ml strong black tea
Pour the pepper and alcohol mixture into the other ingredients using a filter (I use a cloth filter) so that the pepper itself does not enter the mix. This is to help prevent the sprayer from getting clogged with pepper grounds.
Dilute up to three litres, with water.
Shake before use. Spray on the animal, avoiding the eyes and mouth. (And avoiding your eyes and mouth - this is, after all, pepper spray as used in self defence...)
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