FLIES!

Old thread, but...

Best fly control method for the house is, hands down - the Bug-A-Salt. It's effective and fun! Outside, traps have worked well for me. I'm getting an electric mosquito (and other flying insect) trap soon and will post my thoughts..
 
Old thread, but...

Best fly control method for the house is, hands down - the Bug-A-Salt. It's effective and fun! Outside, traps have worked well for me. I'm getting an electric mosquito (and other flying insect) trap soon and will post my thoughts..
This is the coolest looking thing! My wife won't let me get one, she's afraid I'll go "Rambo" in the house!! I've seen the infomercials, very cool!
 
I know this is an old thread, but I figured I'd add some fun/GROSS photos...

I bought some $5 traps from TSC, they came with a bag of powder bait that didn't have the best reviews. I disagree, the bait it came with was AWESOME! See the photos below, this is after my 3rd time dumping a full canister. The first photo is after only 2 days in the sun, and the second photo was 24 hours later - it's like the more flies are in there, the more it attracts them! I also added some of the blue granules (by themselves, I didn't get ANY dead flies...) to the water to assist in killing them once they're in the trap.





I wait for them to fill up about 3/4 of the way, then close the top and swirl them around for a minute so they drown. The blue bait helps kill them, but when it gets so filled, the flies create a "raft" that the others can stand on.

I also got the sticky traps for inside the house - pretty gross to see how many of them get into the house! But it's better to have them stuck to a trap then flying around inside.
 
I'm new to having chickens and I guess I never expected the amount of flies to be so many, but I feel like it's also because I'm doing something wrong. They are just everywhere and we've tried the fly traps (you know the ones that are filled with liquid to lure them in) and it worked for a while and now it's just gotten out of hand again. I've read a lot of suggestions here in this forum and I'm going to try all of them, lol. But I'm just worried that our chickens are uncomfortable considering their personal space is being invaded. So I don't know what else to approach this issue with but hopefully something works. I did read in an article about keeping flies in control, that you could purchase fly predators? According to the article they'll eat the fly pupa and control the amount of flies in the coop. I thought it was interesting.
 
I have flies again pretty bad right now, and even with the 2 liquid traps I have set up, I'm still dealing with them all over the place. We've had a ton of rain lately, so that doesn't help. I added pine shavings to the bottom of the run, as that was really muddy and definitely attracting flies. That has helped. Also, PZT is a grain that you can put down to help keep the ground dry. Wet ground is the biggest culprit in my experience, and wet poop. PZT and DE in the poop helps keep the moisture away.
 
Like stated 43 other times here (Old thread), livestock and flies are like socks and shoes. It's part of the fun. You can get all crazy on the internets until your eyes fall out buying and looking for new and interesting gadgets that will 'help' with any kind of bug issue...most are time and money wasted. Sanitation/manure management is step one for any situation with animals. If you have any kind of moisture issue, take a Saturday and figure out why and fix it.

As we all know, flys need moisture + catalyst to produce. I stopped using regular straw in the warmer months for this very reason, its nothing more than fly bait when it gets wet and soiled. I've had a little better success with Chopped Straw. Using sand within your run and coop is very anti-bug with its course and dry qualities. Works better if the run is covered as well. Manure in such small quantities for your typical backyarder chicken meister would do well using a correct composting setup. Correct meaning not just throw it in a pile and let it sit. Build it correctly using browns and greens with water added. It will accelerate the breakdown process much faster than just a heap of whatever where ever. If you do not have a use for the composted material, it can simply be spread around bushes and lawns as it will dissipate rather quickly back to the earth. I am not anti-DE, I use it for other things around my yard. I highly discourage you or anyone from using it for this application as it has the potential to kill a lot of things that are beneficial in the long run to break this stuff down. You need those other bugs to aid the process or you could potentially just end up with piles of sh*t that sit there for a year.

I live next to my parents..the 'complain about dead leaves make to much noise hitting the ground' kind of people so I've spent a few years researching and trying things out to reduce the fly population in an area where I've never known it to not have flys. Suddenly having chickens next door brought the flies in..its a frustrating situation for me. These methods have really worked for me given all that. I constantly rake the outside area of my chicken space, turning the run material at least once a week to help it dry out and aeriate, coop is cleaned thoroughly every few days and I try to cover any new used bedding in my pile with a bag of lawn clippings to start the composting process. The wind blows South to North here so I think these are working? Or the flys keep jumping on the breeze and head next door. I have little to no flies around my coop on any given day. Good luck if you're still having issues.
 
I'm a fly control professional (an Independent Pest Control Operator).
While manure management is important, the truth is that the flies tend to breed in the first 2-5" of the soil. The life cycle of the various flies requires more than the coop floor can provide. Think about it- you would be able to see fly larvae/maggots if the breeding area was in the coop.

The simplest means to begin controlling fly issues is to apply Agricultural Lime to raise the Ph of the soil to 6.8-7.0, if possible. Flies require an acidic medium for successful breeding. Determine the Ph and apply the necessary quantity of lime. This will be an annual chore that is well worth the effort. Your birds will enjoy healthier and more nutritious grasses as a result of this simple fix.

If the issue is to the point of "Wow, look at all the flies", I would recommend Cyflutrhin (Tempo Ultra WP made by Bayer) applied to the exterior of the coop. Cyflthrin has excellent "knock down" properties. Generally, the flies prefer to be in the sun and don't care much for shade. Following the directions on the label, treat the west and south sides of the coop where the flies congregate. Cyfluthrin is also very effective on mites and lice. This is a safe and proven insecticide that has a very low toxicity for people, pets and livestock. The chemical has a finite life- about 30-45 days- it will degrade quickly and leave no residue in the environment. If used, simply allow it to dry completely before allowing the birds in and around the coop.

If you are more patient in your efforts, you could use a natural control mechanism. There exist many insects that are fly predators (use that as a search term). These predators, consisting of natural and indigenous species of flies and very small, non-stinging wasps, can be purchased online very easily (the species vary depending on one's geographic location). This mechanism of control will take a year or so and must be repeated annually. I have used this method for some of my clients that have a desire for a more organic means of fly control and it really works.

Good Luck
I use Talstar on entire yard biannually and it helps, lime in large run as well.
 

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