Our Blue Creek Bug Dope

Fly control is an essential part of caring for horses in the backcountry. Constant biting insects can make horses restless, difficult to handle, and prone to skin irritation. Blue Creek Bug Dope is a traditional insect repellent used by horse packers for decades to protect horses and treat minor wounds on the trail.

What Is Blue Creek Bug Dope

Our very own Bug Dope is made in-house and has a unique recipe, not something you can buy anywhere else. It is made from 100% natural ingredients.

It is very effective against any type of insect. Due to its texture, it stays effective for many hours, sometimes for days (depending on how much the horse sweats).

It also has healing and disinfecting properties and helps heal wounds, sores, and scabs.

You can order our natural bug dope for horses here.

Traditional Ingredients in Bug Dope

Here is a description of the ingredients, which are lard, petroleum jelly, pine tar, creolin, citronella:

1. Why We Use Lard in Bug Dope:

Lard is rendered pork fat. Fat is boiled and steamed until it turns liquid, then it hardens as a white, semi-solid paste. The rendering removes the pork flavour. 100 years ago, lard was the most used cooking fat, until it got replaced by vegetable oils. It is noteworthy that lard has no trans fats, it has less saturated fats and cholesterol than butter. It also has healthy monosaturated fats (like olive oil), and a high smoke point, which makes it ideal for frying.

The main reason why we use lard in our bug dope is because it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E and Vitamin A and very palatable for the skin. Many skincare and lip treatment products contain lard. It is extremely moisturizing and activates collagen production which speeds up the replacement of dead skin cells.

 

2. Petroleum Jelly for Skin Protection

                                                                                                                           

Petroleum jelly is made from hydrocarbons, which consist of hydrogen and carbon. The raw material to make this product comes from naturally occurring petroleum. It is somewhat hard to believe why this product has been so successfully used for centuries. Marco Polo describes the oil as a remedy against a skin disease called mange. Native Americans have used petroleum jelly to protect their skin and have built sophisticated oil pits.The first American oil rig workers in the 1800s discovered that the paraffin-like substance that builds on the rigs helps heal their cuts and burns.

In 1870, a chemist called Robert Chesebrough, patented the making of petroleum jelly and called it Vaseline.

Here a few benefits of petroleum jelly:

• Keeps wounds moist and prevents scarring
• Protects and prevents moisture loss
• Applied to the nose it can prevent and stop nose bleeding
• Applied to the nose and ears it can prevent crusting
• Reduces friction between skin parts and between skin and clothing

 

3. Pine Tar and Creolin as Natural Disinfectants

Pine tar is produced by distilling pine wood through high heat in a closed environment. Similar to petroleum jelly it contains hydrocarbons, but here they are aromatic and have that typical pine smell. Further, it contains tar acids and alkaline tar components.

Pine tar has a long history as a wood preservative, but also in the use of soaps and the treatment of skin diseases such as psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea. It is widely used as a hoof care product for horses and cattle. It has antiseptic properties and promotes the hardening of the hoof.

 

4. Creolin

Similar to pine tar, Creolin is made by the dry distillation of wood. It mainly contains two types of aromatic acids, which make it a very powerful disinfectant and leave it with a very potent smell. It has been widely used as a hospital-grade disinfectant and in animal husbandry to clean stalls and disinfect hooves and skin wounds.

Due to its potent nature, we use very little in the Bug Dope.

 

5. Citronella for Fly Control

Citronella is an essential oil derived from lemongrass and is a well-known insect repellant.

Why Every Pack Horse Kit Needs Bug Dope

After using Bug Dope on my horses for decades, I guarantee the product. I take it with me on every horse trip. It has served me well in keeping bugs away from the horses, and by treating wounds. One time a pack horse rolled down a riverbank, and had an inch-thick branch stuck in its shoulder. That happened on the first day. We treated the wound for the remainder of the week with Bug Dope and by the time we got home, the hole already started to close and no infection had started.

I never forget the trip I did from Ontario back to BC with 2 horses. We stayed at the fairgrounds in a small SK town. The black flies were so bad, that they completely covered the horses, who ran around and around in the corral trying to get rid of the nasty things. I used up an entire Bug Dope jar for each horse, completely rubbing it all over them. The flies stayed away and the horses were calm for the rest of the night.

I like to take a few disposable gloves with me to apply the product.

I produce Bug Dope all year round, and it is always available.

If you use our Bug Dope, please leave a comment below the product.

You can order our natural bug dope for horses here.

In addition to bug protection, we also use natural hoof care for pack horses to keep our animals sound on long mountain trips.

Many of these backcountry horse care techniques are taught at our pack horse clinics.

In the mountains, flies and biting insects can quickly turn a calm horse into a miserable one. A traditional bug dope that stays in place and protects the skin is one of the simplest and most effective tools a horse packer can carry.

As always, Happy Trails!

     Donat