The hidden truth behind fly spray
This quote is a direct line from the back of a bottle of popular fly spray: “Do not apply this product in a way that will contact adults, children, or pets either directly or through drift”. Yeah.. that’s written on the back of a bottle that we are supposed to spray all over our horses (and that we end up breathing in).
So, why does a product designed to “help” our horses come with such a scary warning? Well, for good reason unfortunately.
The vast majority of fly sprays on the market contain one or of both of the following chemical elements: pyrethroids or piperonyl butoxide (PBO). Both are known carcinogens, meaning they are known to cause cancer and other side effects. That’s why the warning label says “don’t use in a way that will come in contact with you or your pets”.
Pyrethroids and PBO have a long history as insecticies and have been widely studied. Unfortunately, those studies don’t spell good news for human (or animal) health. Let’s dive in:
Pyrethroids
Pyrethroids come in two forms: pyrethrum or permethrin.
Pyrethrum is a natural derivative of the chrysanthemum flower. This can be deceptive when it comes to marketing because companies can use this to their advantage saying that their product is plant-based. Reframe your thinking and imagine a company saying something like “includes all-natural poison ivy”. Yeah… you wouldn’t buy that. Just because it’s a plant derivative doesn’t mean it isn’t still toxic.
Permethrin is a synthetic version of pyrethrum. This means chemically, it has the same properties as pyrethrum, but it was man-made in a lab. The vast majority of sprays on the market include permethrin, as it can be produced on-demand by chemists.
Both pyrethrum and permethrin cause side effects such as skin irritation, difficulty breathing, neurotoxicity, immune suppression, and reproductive harm. They are classified as a known carcinogen, being proven to cause damage, deformities, and abnormalities across several animal species.
Piperonyl Butoxide (PBO)
Piperonyl Butoxide is often referred to as PBO. PBO is not an insecticide itself, but a synergist. Think of it like insecticide’s trusty sidekick, the addition of PBO in an insecticide spray makes the insecticide work better. Much like pyrethoids, PBO can cause skin irritation and difficulty breathing. The EPA has also classified PBO as a carcinogen and even more scarily, a study conducted at Columbia University found that infants whose mothers had been exposed to low levels of PBO during their third trimester showed delayed mental development at age 3. Yikes.
I know this is a lot to take in (*cue all of us thinking about the gallons of fly spray we’ve probably inhaled during our lifetimes*). But it’s important to remember that knowledge is key and now you have this new knowledge!
We do what we know until we know better, then we do better.
So, how can you do better? Next time you need to re-up on fly spray, instead of utilizing an insecticide based fly spray, opt for an herbal based fly repellent. These sprays will not kill flies on contact, but they will repel them away from your horse so they aren’t as bothered. There are a multitude of them on the market and much like chemical fly sprays, they come in a variety of price points. Here are some of my favorites:
Stop Bugg’n - This is the spray I use personally on my herd and what I carry in my kit to use on your horse’s during session. It’s the most effective herbal spray I’ve used, I love the way it smells, and it’s price-point is comparable to traditional sprays. If you’re local to Tucson, you can also buy it at Holy Cow Tack and Feed for cheaper than you can get it online!
Equiderma - This is the next most popular spray I see at barns. I have a large handful of clients who swear by it! I have a very small handful of clients who have reported allergic reactions with their horses after use. I haven’t used it personally on my own horses but I enjoy the smell and it seems to work well when clients have used it on their horses. It does sit at the higher end price-point.
UltraCruz - I have not personally used this product, but it’s been recommended to me by a few clients who say great things about it. Made with clean herbal ingredients and it sits at the lower end price-point making it a great introduction to herbal sprays for someone who doesn’t want to break the bank.
If this blog post has left you feeling overwhelmed, please don’t let it make you feel that way! As humans, we are always learning and sometimes that means saying “Hm, wish I had known that earlier” and then forging ahead.
If this blog post has left you feeling like yeah, you get it, fly spray is bad for you but you’re still going to use the “good” stuff because you feel it works better. You do you! No judgement. That’s the beauty of horsemanship - we all get to make the decisions we feel are right for us and our horses. However, please know that if you have fly sprayed your horse before session and then I come in and utilize the repetitive motion of bodywork, I'm not only pushing these chemicals deeper into your horse's skin but also my own.
So, when I ask you not to fly spray your horse before session, know that it's not because I'm scared to get dirty... but I'm protecting my body from high toxic loads working on horses all day (ps- I’m pregnant so that means I’m being extra cautious!). Thank you for letting me use my ‘hippie’ fly spray while I’m there working with your horse ❤️
Resources
https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/commonly-used-insecticide-linked-delayed-mental-development
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/pbogen.html#cancer
https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/reregistration/fs_PC-109701_1-Jun-06.pdf
https://www.anapsid.org/pyrethroids.html
http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/cypermet.htm#:~:text=Cypermethrin%20is%20a%20slight%20skin,in%20female%20rats%20%5B8%5D
