Diesel fuel repels flies.COUNTRYSIDE: Spring and summer bring lush foliage, blue skies, warm sunshine and long days of planting. With the arrival of the warm months, however, also comes the incessant torment of flies. Black flies, brown flies, horseflies, deer flies; all emerge at this time to wreak wreak tr.v. wreaked, wreak·ing, wreaks 1. To inflict (vengeance or punishment) upon a person. 2. To express or gratify (anger, malevolence, or resentment); vent. 3. havoc on every farmer's animals. The tags on a newly purchased cattle rub recommend citronella citronella, common name for a grass, Cymbopogon nardus, the source of oil of citronella, used in perfumes and soaps and as an insect repellent. The plant, with bluish green, lemon-scented leaves, is cultivated in Java and Sri Lanka. , pyrethrum pyrethrum (pīrē`thrəm): see chrysanthemum. pyrethrum Any of certain plant species of the genus Chrysanthemum (see , or any other similar insecticide insecticide Any of a large group of substances used to kill insects. Such substances are mainly used to control pests that infest cultivated plants and crops or to eliminate disease-carrying insects in specific areas. , but flies will often inevitably still find their way through such defenses. However, although you won't find it listed on the tags of cattle rub, an almost infallible in·fal·li·ble adj. 1. Incapable of erring: an infallible guide; an infallible source of information. 2. fly deterrent is ordinary diesel fuel. My grandfather has been using this method, which we refer to as a "folk remedy," for as long as I can remember with excellent results. In fact, we have found that nothing works better than diesel in preventing flies. Diesel is a simple and effective means to repel flies and other insects that torment the animals of the farm. For those farmers who have a ready diesel supply to power tractors and tillers, it is also a convenient source of fly deterrent. Diesel works like any other fly repellent re·pel·lent adj. Capable of driving off or repelling. n. A substance used to drive off or keep away insects. repellent able to repel or drive off; also, an agent that repels. Refers usually to insect repellent. ; it is poured onto a cattle rub and left for the cows to cover themselves with. Its only drawback is the fact that if any is spilled on one's clothes while soaking the rub, they will forever smell of diesel. Therefore it is often best to set aside some clothes and reserve them only for the pouring of diesel. Animals quickly learn that the smell of diesel translates to mean no flies. Every afternoon during the warm months, our cows can be found sitting around the rub, soaking up the sun with very few flies to bother them. The ground around the rub is constantly torn up; visual testament to the amount of time the cows spend there. The smell of diesel is strong enough that it penetrates through the air creating a "fly free" zone all around the rub. At our home we apply diesel to a rub once a week and that seems to suffice. Reducing the amount of flies also reduces the spread of pink eye and other such ailments and succeeds in giving our cows a better quality of life.--Elijah Leon Frank, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of |
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