Does anyone know of one or something I can create at home to spray or wipe on the dogs? The poor things are having such a time with the darn skeeters at the house. We've got the grass cut back but those darn things are bad in this area and really bothering Marrok in particular. We've got our human spray for when we're outdoors but I need some options for the dogs. Any ideas?

Natural Mosquito Repellents | Dogs Naturally Magazine

Neem oil smells the WORST...

But it works the BEST.

I'll have to try a few of these, thanks for the link! I think I'll avoid that Neem Oil though if it smells nasty. I don't need three big stinky dogs in the house. The mosquito's don't seem to bother Bella or Sara much since I they probably can't get through their coats enough to do much biting but oh they bug poor Marrok. Not only does he have next to no coat to speak of but he just in general despises bugs of any kind. Took him for a walk this morning and he was snapping and bucking like a bronco trying to kill the mosquito's hovering near him.

He is pretty handy in the house though. He'll see a spider, knock it to the floor and then very deliberately rear up and come stomping down on it as hard as he can. He nailed a bee outside yesterday and knocked it to the ground as it flew past. Smart dog though. Before I could get to him, he was nosing at it but then quickly pulled back, did a fast head shake and a grumble and backed right off of it allowing me to kill it. I think he's either been stung in the past (before he came to live with us) or is just smart enough to realize that bees are one insect that you want to be careful around.

Checked and it turns out WalMart sells the Repel Lemon Eucalyptus (DEET free) so I'll pick some of that up and try a bit on Marrok and see how it goes. That link says it's the best of the DEET free stuff for mosquitos and also deer ticks so we'll give it a try. I'll make sure and just try a bit of Marrok and put it on areas of his coat he can't easily lick at.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Repel-Lemo...-Pump/16561283

Ok I dont know if the fragrance will be too strong for the dogs, but my mom use to tie dryer sheets (bounce i think) onto the dogs collars and it worked to deter those lil buggers

Hmmmm I might just try that Amanda, maybe rub the dryer sheet just down his back and a bit around his ears or something and see if that stops the nasty buggers wanting to land on him. Marrok doesn't show a lot of allergies to much of anything and I use dryer sheets with our sheets and so forth and he's never reacted so I think it would be safe to try on him. I'll let you know how that idea turns out.

I use a blend of oils... Geranium oil is the key one, I think. They all HATE the smell but it seems to work.

I mix pure neem oil in their shampoo and it's not terrible smelling, IMO. Kind of a nutty fragrance.

We used neem at the shelter a lot and it is one of those smells I cant even think about with out shivering. but I also like the smell of gasoline so to each's own.

I love the smell of gasoline.. but I also don't mind the FAINT odor of skunk. Strong skunk, as in all three of your dogs just got sprayed odor of skunk, is the stuff of nightmares.

I use this product:
Herbal Dip (.5oz)

Seems to help my guys.

I've used the off fans, one on each collar & they worked great.

If your cat comes in contact with your dogs a lot or they may be sharing the same sleeping areas I would be careful about using anything with essential oils, as many of them are dangerous for cats. Cats can be affected even by inhalation, and if they sleep in the same area, this can result in the oils getting on the surface and then on the cats fur where it would be groomed off since cats are so meticulous about grooming.
Citrus, citronella, geranium, and IIRC also tea tree and eucalyptus oils are all toxic to cats for example.

did the dryer sheets work?