Wow! I'm glad it is still snowing at my house! It seems this information should be on the main page because owners can't waste any time in getting rid of the gnats.
Buffalo Gnats Killing Chickens?
- Thread starter CBormann
- Start date
WOW thanks for all the information. I will be looking out for them here.
Holy smokes! Glad I found this post before my chickies come!! That is horrible! Does DE help in anyway to prevent gnat infestation???
Mine are staying in the coop pretty much. They come out and feed, and water, then it is stright back to the coop. I put a fan in there, and turned the light out. Hopefully the gnat life cycle will be over soon. They are biting me though. It hurts and itches like crazy.
Quote:
That is the problem. No viable way to get rid of them. I have bites all over me from doing yard work. I guess my girls are smarter than I am. At least they have the sense to stay in the coop.
That is the problem. No viable way to get rid of them. I have bites all over me from doing yard work. I guess my girls are smarter than I am. At least they have the sense to stay in the coop.
Quote:
That is the problem. No viable way to get rid of them. I have bites all over me from doing yard work. I guess my girls are smarter than I am. At least they have the sense to stay in the coop.
Use a little vanilla or vanilla/water mixture and dab it on your skin in a few places. I don't know why it works, but it does. I spray around my chicken houses and even the chickens.
My daughter and I were out doing the evening rounds and the wretched gnats were all over us! I spritzed us with vanilla/water and it was like an invisible force shield went up around us!
I have not lost the first chicken and I have hundreds of chicks I have hatched this year. This in an area where people are losing dozens....
That is the problem. No viable way to get rid of them. I have bites all over me from doing yard work. I guess my girls are smarter than I am. At least they have the sense to stay in the coop.
Use a little vanilla or vanilla/water mixture and dab it on your skin in a few places. I don't know why it works, but it does. I spray around my chicken houses and even the chickens.
My daughter and I were out doing the evening rounds and the wretched gnats were all over us! I spritzed us with vanilla/water and it was like an invisible force shield went up around us!
I have not lost the first chicken and I have hundreds of chicks I have hatched this year. This in an area where people are losing dozens....
Quote:
That is the problem. No viable way to get rid of them. I have bites all over me from doing yard work. I guess my girls are smarter than I am. At least they have the sense to stay in the coop.
Use a little vanilla or vanilla/water mixture and dab it on your skin in a few places. I don't know why it works, but it does. I spray around my chicken houses and even the chickens.
My daughter and I were out doing the evening rounds and the wretched gnats were all over us! I spritzed us with vanilla/water and it was like an invisible force shield went up around us!
I have not lost the first chicken and I have hundreds of chicks I have hatched this year. This in an area where people are losing dozens....
I will try that. I tried the dryer sheet method, and it had no effect on them what so ever. I also heard that you need to use 100% pure vanilla extract. The imitation stuff is said not to work.
That is the problem. No viable way to get rid of them. I have bites all over me from doing yard work. I guess my girls are smarter than I am. At least they have the sense to stay in the coop.
Use a little vanilla or vanilla/water mixture and dab it on your skin in a few places. I don't know why it works, but it does. I spray around my chicken houses and even the chickens.
My daughter and I were out doing the evening rounds and the wretched gnats were all over us! I spritzed us with vanilla/water and it was like an invisible force shield went up around us!
I have not lost the first chicken and I have hundreds of chicks I have hatched this year. This in an area where people are losing dozens....
I will try that. I tried the dryer sheet method, and it had no effect on them what so ever. I also heard that you need to use 100% pure vanilla extract. The imitation stuff is said not to work.
The pure vanilla didn't do much for my birds either. (other than make them smell nice)
I found that spraying them with some Cutter 'Natural' bug repellant helped better than the vanilla. What really seemed to do the trick was to burn mosquito coils in the coop. (those Japanese incense coils that give off some pyrethrin (or something like that) and smoke.) I think it's actually the small amount of smoke that seems to run the gnats off.
Obviously you need to put the coils out in a way that you won't burn down the coop and the chickens can't get at them. I put some in the terra cotta holders that are made for the coils and others I put inside of wire suet feeder and then hung the suet feeder inside a cage trap so that my chickens couldn't peck at it or kick too much sand over it.
The smoke didn't seem to bother the birds at all. And it got rid of 95% of the gnats.
I found that spraying them with some Cutter 'Natural' bug repellant helped better than the vanilla. What really seemed to do the trick was to burn mosquito coils in the coop. (those Japanese incense coils that give off some pyrethrin (or something like that) and smoke.) I think it's actually the small amount of smoke that seems to run the gnats off.
Obviously you need to put the coils out in a way that you won't burn down the coop and the chickens can't get at them. I put some in the terra cotta holders that are made for the coils and others I put inside of wire suet feeder and then hung the suet feeder inside a cage trap so that my chickens couldn't peck at it or kick too much sand over it.
The smoke didn't seem to bother the birds at all. And it got rid of 95% of the gnats.
Quote:
Use a little vanilla or vanilla/water mixture and dab it on your skin in a few places. I don't know why it works, but it does. I spray around my chicken houses and even the chickens.
My daughter and I were out doing the evening rounds and the wretched gnats were all over us! I spritzed us with vanilla/water and it was like an invisible force shield went up around us!
I have not lost the first chicken and I have hundreds of chicks I have hatched this year. This in an area where people are losing dozens....
I will try that. I tried the dryer sheet method, and it had no effect on them what so ever. I also heard that you need to use 100% pure vanilla extract. The imitation stuff is said not to work.
I've used:
Bath and Body Works Vanilla body spray
Vanilla scrented sweeper bag spray freshener
imitation vanilla mixed with water
all with great results!!
Use a little vanilla or vanilla/water mixture and dab it on your skin in a few places. I don't know why it works, but it does. I spray around my chicken houses and even the chickens.
My daughter and I were out doing the evening rounds and the wretched gnats were all over us! I spritzed us with vanilla/water and it was like an invisible force shield went up around us!
I have not lost the first chicken and I have hundreds of chicks I have hatched this year. This in an area where people are losing dozens....
I will try that. I tried the dryer sheet method, and it had no effect on them what so ever. I also heard that you need to use 100% pure vanilla extract. The imitation stuff is said not to work.
I've used:
Bath and Body Works Vanilla body spray
Vanilla scrented sweeper bag spray freshener
imitation vanilla mixed with water
all with great results!!
I'm glad to know a reason why my chickens are staying in the coop. I brought them out some treats today and stayed out w/ them. I watched them get swarmed. They went back in before they finished the treats...UGH... I lost 6 chickens a few weeks back due to the gnats and me having them shut in the run. They had nowhere to hide
Has anyone noticed that they don't seem to bother chicks though? At least mine... I have a hen w/ babies, and the hen will have a ton on her, and the babies are free. I also have a small pen that out in my yard for my chicks that are kept in the house. I have been keeping a close eye on them, and the gnats seem to leave them alone?!
Has anyone noticed that they don't seem to bother chicks though? At least mine... I have a hen w/ babies, and the hen will have a ton on her, and the babies are free. I also have a small pen that out in my yard for my chicks that are kept in the house. I have been keeping a close eye on them, and the gnats seem to leave them alone?!
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