Buffalo Gnats...

[mrsjim]

I have used the Bti twice now. My husband seems to think the gnats have lessened. Since I work swing shifts, I am not here at the time of day they usually come out. I only got one day off last weekend and I had a lot to catch up with around the house and yard that I was not paying too much attention and I wish I was. I have tried the vanilla and that does work, it just needs to be reapplied. I called the National Pesticide Information Center and they gave nothing but positive feedback about this product. It seems according to them that when Bti is applied to the soil, as apposed to directly to water, it's half-life is much longer. I still need a definitive answer on how to dilute it. I have been mixing six drops her gallon of water into a pump up sprayer. I apply it just after watering and try to spray it liberally. This product is supposed to remain active even when the ground dries out. I am still working with this product and will keep you posted. As far as I can tell, the gnats have lessened.

 

[MrWattles]

We had them bad this year, in west central Illinois, I lost one barred rock pullet, one easter chicken, one cochin banty and one year old light brahma rooster. The rooster started weezing real bad and I thought he was going to pull through but I found him dead three days after the weezing started, I didn't realize how serious it was. I wish I had tried to get him some medicine in hind site.

 

[thndrdancr]

Ours had slowed down, but now with all the rains have come back in force. My poor peacocks have literally bitten the feathers off their neck they are so bothered by them.
I have two fairly tame ones that will let me spray them, but one I recently bought is a wild thing and I cant spray her, so she looks like a naked neck chicken, poor baby. I didnt realize they were that bad, hope my pea's make it.

One poor guy will literally come up to the kitchen window and peck on it to tell me when he needs sprayed down with vanilla, they seem to bother him the most.

 

[mrsjim]

So far, this stuff is working better than I thought. I was sure I was suckered into a minor money pit. (It cost $26 for six ounces. Although you place six drops in a gallon pump up sprayer and I place nine drops in my pond that should last a long time.) I noticed the clouds are sparser each week. There are key areas they populate, my garden, my compost, and potted plants. They obviously breed anywhere it is damp. My routine is, I first wait until payday to remind myself every two weeks. I water my plants and compost and wherever the gnats seem to be breeding. Then I mix six drops Bti to one gallon of water. I pump up the sprayer and soak the ground underneath the plants, inside the compost bin, around places where the ground is damp. I cannot believe how fewer and fewer gnats there are. I recommend you spray your birds and beast with vanilla while these pests are slowly succumbing to their fate. How the university did it, I do not know. But it is working. I think I have applied it like three or four times so far, every two weeks. Next year, I am starting earlier. Anyhow, just letting you know.

 

[FarmrGirl]

You might want to get a few Muscovy... they'll eat up those suckers like they're candy. Mine snap up anything that flies: mosquitos, horseflies, wasps, and they're great at eating up ticks too. Plus, my Muscovy are super sweet and very curious, the boys really like to be petted and the girls will nibble at my fingers when I'm out in the garden with them. They don't quack, they really don't make any noise at all. They're not much for swimming but they do like to splash so I have a kiddie pool for them.


A few of my Muscovy:

 

[mrsjim]

Just wanted to comment to FarmrGirl. Your Muscovy look beautiful. There have been some sad posts on this subject. I hope your babies stay well and strong.

 

[Baymule]

A friend of mine had 50 laying hens and lost almost all of them to gnats before she even realized they were attacking her chickens. She uses Avon skin so soft on them. I will tell her about the vanilla. I also like the muscovie idea, just keep a couple of ducks in with the chickens?

 

[NateinFL]

I tried doing my own research online about these gnats since they're not here in FL as far as I know, and it seems like a recent problem. Are they invasive species? I couldnt really find an answer online to that.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Bump

 

[mamacita0804]

I just noticed gnats really bothering my girls (Texas) was going to do vanilla and water- and because I'm an overachiever, those that also use air fresheners, are u using the cheap ones u hang in cars or is there another kind to recommend?