ducks poop / flies / fly predators

[Swiegand]

Might be silly question, but I'm going for it. This is my first time raising ducks. I've had them since they were itty bitty and they are 3 and a half months now. They have been outdoors in their run for a long time now. I use the deep litter method. I stir/turn their bedding(straw) everyday and add fresh bedding on top once a week. Of coarse the battle with flies is a struggle. I've tried traps, I've tried fly bate, I've tried DE, I've tried running fans, heck I've even tried vacuuming the flies I've even thought of borrowing some of my friends pig poop to put in a pile somewhere so the flies would be more attracted to that than everywhere else. The flies aren't just in the duck run/area, they're everywhere and they're out of control. I've considered getting fly predators, but the cost with shipping is too much right now. Something occurred to me that didn't cross my mind before.... Am I supposed to be picking up my ducks poop everyday? I feel like that would be pretty silly considering they poop everywhere and I can't imagine someone with dozens or even hundreds of ducks picking up the poop, but who knows. Am I supposed to at least pick up the ones that can be picked up

Is the deep litter method not the way to go for fly control?

I also use the duck pond water for my plants when I empty it. Could that be why there's flies literally everywhere?

Also, does anyone know if/where fly predators can be purchased not online?

 

[Swiegand]

Well I bit the bullet & ordered some fly predators. Question still stands though....

 

[BlueBaby]

The flies are attracted to the poop and the moisture from all of the water. I don't have duck's, only chicken's. I live in the desert where we are now having temp's over 110-F., so I have some mister's up for them to help them stay cool. This however also attracts the flies in like crazy. My Fly Predator's just arrived here this morning in the mail. I used a smaller bag of them last year, but when I went back to reorder more they were sold out. I bought a bigger bag of them this year.

 

[Swiegand]

The flies are attracted to the poop and the moisture from all of the water. I don't have duck's, only chicken's. I live in the desert where we are now having temp's over 110-F., so I have some mister's up for them to help them stay cool. This however also attracts the flies in like crazy. My Fly Predator's just arrived here this morning in the mail. I used a smaller bag of them last year, but when I went back to reorder more they were sold out. I bought a bigger bag of them this year.

How did the predators work out for you last year??

 

[BlueBaby]

How did the predators work out for you last year??

Good for awhile, but I couldn't order another batch because they were out of stock. I had to hang up some of those Fly Rescue bag's to get more of them. They stink and that's what attracts the flies to them, so don't hang them up too close to where you or your duck's normally go.

 

[KaleIAm]

I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to pick up every or most duck poops. I never clean up poop outside, but my ducks have a big aviary and we live near Seattle where it rains a lot. I spot clean inside every few days, but just the sleeping corner because that gets really poopy.

We do get some flies, but never so many that I've considered doing something about it.

I don't use the deep litter method though so maybe it's different.

 

[ruthhope]

@KaleIAm "We do get some flies, but never so many that I've considered doing something about it.

I don't use the deep litter method though so maybe it's different."


I use deep litter and do not have a big problem with flies.

I cover wet areas in the coop with dried leaves and then pine shavings. I rarely need to scoop out much mess -- it's just not an issue. Large wet patches are sometimes and issue.

My son also uses deep litter and has more flies than me but they are not a big problem. He gets wet litter round his feeding bowl and by his water pots. Like me he covers it with dried leaves and then pine shavings. The flies, green flies, are attracted to the wet area and covering the wet area with the deep litter, disperses the flies.

 

[Swiegand]

@KaleIAm "We do get some flies, but never so many that I've considered doing something about it.

I don't use the deep litter method though so maybe it's different."


I use deep litter and do not have a big problem with flies.

I cover wet areas in the coop with dried leaves and then pine shavings. I rarely need to scoop out much mess -- it's just not an issue. Large wet patches are sometimes and issue.

My son also uses deep litter and has more flies than me but they are not a big problem. He gets wet litter round his feeding bowl and by his water pots. Like me he covers it with dried leaves and then pine shavings. The flies, green flies, are attracted to the wet area and covering the wet area with the deep litter, disperses the flies.

Thank you! This is really helpful! Putting leaves or shavings in wet areas is a good idea!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I just stumbled on this now
I have flies around too and if I miss a night of spraying the poo off the lawn the next day is crazy with them
Every night I empty water dishes and kid pools ( my ponds are once a week )
Then I spray the poo on my lawn
I also clean the duck room every morning. I don’t leave poo in there
I use pine shavings in their room


Im
A stay at home mom so I have time to do this. I also have my ducks in their own room in the basement for night time as the ducks house isn’t finished
The first one was great for 3 ducks but now I have 10 so we had to figure out something quick
Being in my house I have to clean it first thing. Although I like how good it smells after a clean
Last year I used straw / hay in the outdoor duck house and the flies were non stop. It doesn’t absorb I hated it
Now that I have used shavings I could never go back

 

[leah0222]

Might be silly question, but I'm going for it. This is my first time raising ducks. I've had them since they were itty bitty and they are 3 and a half months now. They have been outdoors in their run for a long time now. I use the deep litter method. I stir/turn their bedding(straw) everyday and add fresh bedding on top once a week. Of coarse the battle with flies is a struggle. I've tried traps, I've tried fly bate, I've tried DE, I've tried running fans, heck I've even tried vacuuming the flies I've even thought of borrowing some of my friends pig poop to put in a pile somewhere so the flies would be more attracted to that than everywhere else. The flies aren't just in the duck run/area, they're everywhere and they're out of control. I've considered getting fly predators, but the cost with shipping is too much right now. Something occurred to me that didn't cross my mind before.... Am I supposed to be picking up my ducks poop everyday? I feel like that would be pretty silly considering they poop everywhere and I can't imagine someone with dozens or even hundreds of ducks picking up the poop, but who knows. Am I supposed to at least pick up the ones that can be picked up

Is the deep litter method not the way to go for fly control?

I also use the duck pond water for my plants when I empty it. Could that be why there's flies literally everywhere?

Also, does anyone know if/where fly predators can be purchased not online?

This is my first time also to have multiple ducks (13) and boy, the flies were outrageous! Fly traps helped but we did frequent water dumps of their kiddie pools (they range during the day and swim in our small pond) I turn the bedding daily, but only scoop all and add fresh weekly - but we put it to a compost pile, so I found that turning the poop and sprinkling with lye dramatically cut down the flies. Ducks are dirty little creatures, I have muscovies, a pair of pekins and a quad of mallards - odd that the mallards are the best groomed!