does anyone use a automatic fly spray

[jnjross]

i was thinking about getting one of those automatic fly sprayers from the farm&feed , does anyone use them? how great are they?

 

[DarkWolf]

They seem to be alot like the misting systems used in peoples back yards to cool the air on hot days with water, but on a timer. So if they're working on the same principle I'd say their function would be fine and dandy, with the only thing needing to worry about is jet clogs.

But that's just speculation based on the perceived design...

 

[patandchickens]

I would not use it on a bet. I do not want to be constantly pumping insecticides into the air, and onto the ground and items my chickens are eating, and onto the chickens themselves, for relatively little reason. Especially since I eat the eggs.

In horse/cattle barns at least there is the justification that with large numbers of large livestock it is real hard to avoid a considerable plague of biting flies that can greatly distress the horses cattle etc. (Though I *still* do not like auto fly spray systems in horse barns [no opinion on cattle], because, again, I do not want that much insecticide going into my horses and their buckets, feed bins, etc].

A backyard chicken coop, though, is not going to get ANYthing like as fly-ey as a large-livestock barn, not if you are managing it even halfway right. Keep the run DRY and picked-up, hang some flypaper in the coop out of chickens' reach (and where you won't whop into it with your head!

), and there will be very few flies. Certainly not enough to, IMO, warrant spraying chemicals around multiple times a day on a timer's say-so.

JMHO, I realize that people who have more faith that pesticide manufacturers prioritize human health above profits, and less awareness of toxicological studies that have been done, may disagree with this type viewpoint,

Pat

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

For fly problems, get a product called Quik Strike. Its a fly strip that we use in our horse barn. It doesn't put chemicals in the air, and it pretty much kills flies on contact. You can set a pale under the strip and pretty much fill it up with dead flies in a couple hours, depending on how many flies you have. For chicken safety put a piece of garden fence, or wire mesh around it so that they can't peck at it.

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/quick-strike-fly-strips.htm

 

[jnjross]

you have a point i don't know what's in them,
i live in a super rural area, i'm surrounded by cattle and horses, so we had lots of flies, biting ones, not just in the coop, in the house too! in fact there's a fly strip hanging over the computer. has for being dry

.we are getting 4-8 inches a week!!!!
i dusted the coop today , i'll wait and see how that helps,

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
If you have lots of cattle and horses around, spraying an insecticidal fog around the coop a few times a day will do basically no good anyhow

Have you tried the stinky traps? They do need to be located fairly far from your deck or other frequently-inhabited areas

(i.e. you do NOT want one in the coop!) but they work really quite well on many types of flies. They will not totally eliminate the problem but can really reduce it a lot. Wear a clothespin on your nose when you empty or dispose of them (fortunately this does not need to be frequently -- in some situations you can get away with just waiting til the end of the year)

Good luck,

Pat

 

[calgal98]

I am one of those rural raisers of livestock and got my chickens to BE fly control!!! LOL. The will be free ranged in the pasture during the day and in their (ahem) little home at nite. My growing coop is currently 8x40. I only have 5 hens at the moment, with 16 in a brooder and 26 coming in a couple of weeks. I've tried the beneficial insects for fly control in the past, but am going to give the chickens a try. Besides, I love chickens, and its tough to make a tiny wasp friendly....

 

[patandchickens]

Muscovy ducks are supposed to be the ultimate in fly control, fwiw.

I'd try them myself but we have almost as many raccoons as we have flies

Pat

 

[calgal98]

Thanks Pat. Our neighbors have a pond and we have a pool. Haven't done the ducks as I think they would find the water!! LOL

 

[lalyswishytail]

What about diatomaceous earth, (DE)? Isn't that supposed to naturally take care of insect problems?