Flies, Fennel and Friendly Cows
"Shoo fly don't bother me!"
If you have outside animals or eat outside this time of the year, you're no stranger to the relentless hoard of flies that frequent the unintentional buffet we provide them. As a result of these pesky unwanted intruders, I've been experimenting with natural homemade fly spray recipes. I have to share one of my experiences with this endeavor.
As I was looking up what other homesteaders use in their homemade fly spray recipes, I found that the main ingredients were, for the most part, the same. The variation was on which essential oils they used in the mixture. So I decided to experiment with the oils I put in the spray. Since we're spraying it on a dairy cow before milking, I wanted to be sure I'm using my pure therapeutic grade essential oils that are safe for internal use. I don't want anything to compromise our wonderful milk and cream!
Each milking I've been making up a different mixture and asking my milking family their opinions of the results. So the other day, I was making up a mixture and put a few drops of Fennel essential oil into my mixture. The very next milking, after using my spray, Pansy, our newly freshened cow, gave half a gallon more milk than usual! I thought this was awfully coincidental until I looked up some of the primary benefits of Fennel oil. Fennel oil aids in increasing milk production in nursing mothers! A very interesting coincidence! So guess what is a regular ingredient in my last few batches of homemade fly spray.
Have I said how I love these essential oils? Not only do I have a natural, chemical-free way to repel the flies--one that works-- but I have increased the cows milk production--all because I used essential oils!
By the way, Pansy is happy to have the spray put on her and give her a little relief from these summertime pests.
Bye-bye flies!
