how to control flies in run

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Sandrachx

Sandrachx

Songster
13 Years
Oct 16, 2007
264
11
224
Chelsea, MI
does DE work for controlling flies? we have an overlay of sand in our run to help with the drainage of waste but the flies are getting bad. i have fly tape hanging in the coop, but wonder what anyone else has used for flies around the coop. our home is between a dairy farm, a small farm with 2 horses/3 pigs, and a small swampy woods.
 
being between two other farms isnt going to make it easy.
Where I board my horse there are two dairy farms within shouting distance. While my barn owner keeps the manure pile AWAY from the barns/paddocks and uses fly predators, she was told that with the dairy farms being so close, that the fly preds wouldnt make much of a difference.

I am hoping DE helps though. My girls will be in the back yard. And I dont need the neighbors being bothered by an abundance of flies.
 
We have had out chickens in the coop and run for 6 weeks now ( 9 weeks old total ) and I have to say that they DE does work great! I have the 1/2" mesh screens in the window and door - and have no flys in the coop. I havent even used any fresh DE for 2 weeks, and didnt have it too heavily dusted to begin with. It is beginning to smell a bit, as i am using the deep bedding method, but when the meat birds go to process in 2 weeks, will completely clean the coop for the remaining 12 eggers.
They also have not mites or lice!
 
yeah, if you're between 2 dairy farms and you have horses and pigs, honestly the *chickens* are not where your flies are coming from
wink.png
Keep the run as dry as possible, but putting DE in the run is not going to do much of anything about the ambient population of flies just flying around from other sources.

For the horses, flymasks (possibly also fly sheets, depending what kind of flies are the worst and how the horses deal with them) and flyspray. A deep shady shed to stand in will help them avoid some kinds of flies. I have *no* idea about pigs and flies.

Sorry,

Pat0
 
When I raised rabbits years ago I used to throw hydrated agricultural lime on top of the manure. the flies hate it, and it helps balance the ph in the manure. I haven't tried it with chickens.
 
I just had a bunch of flies in the last couple of days. I am using DE, I clean the roost area out daily. We did have a big rain last week so it got wet but I moved the coop and let the area dry, dusted it with DE (a lot) dusted the roost with DE, but they free range and they drop poop all over and that is where the flies are. I have a cat litter scoop that I keep with me and I scoop as I see it and put it in the compost bin. I also bought a fly trap that you put the smelly bait in will with water and hang, I used to have horses near a cattle farm and they worked well, I also put up 3 sticky strips, I hope all this works the flies were bad yesterday. I walked around with a scoop and fly swatter! ( I am unemployed right now so I have the time) I have a book with "home" remedies, it says put 1 egg yolk, 1 T molasses (I used honey) and a pinch of pepper in a shallow dish like a tuna can, and put it in the yard/house, I did catch a few that way, just have to put it where the hens can't get to it and eat it...


I use my grass clippings for the coop, I let them dry in the sun and then put them in, that way I can change them every week when I mow, I will usually add more during the week too. I guess that is ok...I use pine in the roost and nests..the girls love the grass they will leave the yard and go in the coop and pick at the grass...

We have a neighbor with dogs that stay chained up outside beside us so I think some of the flies are from all the poop, but I put pine shavings in the coop then it rained to help soak up some of the wet and I dumped those in the big compost pile, not in a bin, maybe I will dust that with DE, although that will kill all the good bugs working...darn, next time I will put it in a plastic bag...
 
If you have access to tobacco plants flies hate it. Hang some tobacco leaves. I'm not sure if regular dried bags of like pipe tobacco would work or not, but I have heard flies will not be anywhere near a tobacco processing place or where tobacco hangs to dry in a barn. I haven't tried it, but have been meaning to! I think I am going to get some and hang them around in little sache bags and see if it does the trick. Basil is supposed to work too, but I haven't had much luck with that one.
 
Add some DE to the feed that the animals are eating. If you can, offer some to the neighbors to add to their feed as well. The DE will pass thru the animals systems (natural wormer) and then flies will die when attempting to lay larvae in the manure. The larvae will die as well due to the DE content in the manure and therefore begin to break the cycle and reduce the fly populations.
 

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