Combatting buffalo gnats

[SteveH]

A high velocity fan is working well to blow the gnats away from my few remaining birds.

For those familiar with bug zappers, you know most bugs get fried then fall through the grid and out the bottom; but some get hung up and you have to clean it some days. My bug zapper is doing a better job than I thought on the buffalo gnats.................................... the mosquitoes are bad here, but these can't all be mosquitoes.

Clean bug zapper, with the florescent bulb that attracts bugs showing.

What mine looked like today before cleaning.

 

[luvinrunnin]

Funny, I was just doing some research on how to repel gnats last night. I found this site to be quite informative and offers quite a few different solutions. I sure didn't know that they are actually FLIES.

http://www.bugspray.com/article/gnats.html

 

[SteveH]

I googled buffalo gnats illinois last night and came up with several reports, ranging back to 2007, about the buffalo gnats "once again being a problem' or "back again".......................... also of their killing poultry in the past. Locals tell me this plague only lasts 2 or 3 weeks; some articles stated 6 to 8, and that later hatches may occur in the same year.

[ETA: Fogging may work in some areas, but I'm near several bodies of flowing water, including the Mississippi River; you can kill every flying insect on the place and be swarmming with them shortly after. I'm going to buy some Bugbands today, but so far everything I've tried lasts no longer than 15 minutes tops. They hate dark places, and my survivors learned to head for the darkest places and hide when being attacked. Now that I have it, they stay near the fan untill dusk, so I've set it up so they can eat and drink without leaving its safety.

 

[SteveH]

Thanks to a post by knjnnm, I used this link to find that one of the only 4 retailers in my state was less than 20 miles away. The business listed was actually an applicator instead of a retailer, but supplies it to a nearby greenhouse that retails it. I sprayed this garlic spray in my coop, pen, and surrounding area; it worked nearly instantly. Home made garlic spray has not been effective. It remains to be seen if it works as long as touted, but today is the first day my chickens left the safety of the high velocity fan since this plague began. More detail at the seconf link.

http://www.mosquitobarrier.com//

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6491659#p6491659

 

[wolftracks]

Steve are you able to get some help with replacing your birds?

I've been thinking about you a lot.

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Thank you for the thoughts. Yes, I've had many generous offers. I have 19 chicks hatched from my own eggs that are still inside, 42 eggs cooking [though some were getting a little age on them when I set them]. Sadly, it appears I have not yet hatched a single chick that is white from my Ameraucana eggs yet, and starting to wonder about the genotype of my former roo. [He was over both white and B/B/S. I'm sure some of the whites eggs must have hatched, but none appear to be feathering white?????????????]

 

[Anianna]

I've heard that vanilla is an effective deterrent against mosquitoes, perhaps it might also work for gnats. We have found pure peppermint oil diluted in a spray bottles works very well against ants and mice and may effectively keep gnats out of a coop sprayed with it. It's inexpensive and worth a try. I generally recommend encouraging purple martins to live at your property for long-term mosquito control, but I don't know if they also control gnats as effectively.

Here is a site detailing how to get and keep purple martins. They also run hawks off, which is added protection for your flock.

 

[wolftracks]

Quote:
Thank you for the thoughts. Yes, I've had many generous offers. I have 19 chicks hatched from my own eggs that are still inside, 42 eggs cooking [though some were getting a little age on them when I set them]. Sadly, it appears I have not yet hatched a single chick that is white from my Ameraucana eggs yet, and starting to wonder about the genotype of my former roo. [He was over both white and B/B/S. I'm sure some of the whites eggs must have hatched, but none appear to be feathering white?????????????]

I can't hatch out anything but roos from my AM eggs. Then again, they are not MY eggs. They've all been shipped.

I hope you get a few white ones to show up.

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
One of my first experiments was with vanilla; it only lasted about 15 minutes.

I would love to have some purple martin houses up, though I'm sure it's too late this year. However, my experience is that they will not use a house that's very close to a tree that's talller than their home; this place has old oak trees scattered over it.

 

[SteveH]

I talked to the distributor of Mosquito Barrier today because even after two sprayings my coop and pen have reduced numbers, but they're still a problem. He's been on the phone to the manufacturer, and was told that in Canada they've discovered that 12 oz [instead of 3] to the gallon was needed to kill/repel heavy blackfly hatches. He also stated the manufacturer suggested the canola oil was not necessary for blackfly control, but 2 teaspoons of Palmolive dish soap per gallon of mix was. The canola oil settles on still water that mosquitoes hatch from, and only a slight film of the mix on the surface will kill mosquitoes as they hatch.