FLIES!!! Are any of these things toxic to chickens?

[BlossomSilkies]

Are any of the following known to be toxic to chickens:

Skins So Soft
Citronella Oil
Eucalyptus Oil
Dish Washing Liquid
Pine Sol
Tea Tree Oil
Lavender
Sandal Wood Oil
Garlic

You can probably tell I am having a massive fly problem and looking online for some remedies.

 

[BrattishTaz]

I know tea tree oil is. Probably citronella too. I'm not so sure about the others. Have you considered DE? That is what I use and it works very well.

 

[ranchhand]

I can't tell you any specifics, but chickens have very sensitive respiratory systems, and most of what you listed works as an aromatic oil. I wouldn't use any of them. I just use the horrid sticky fly strips, hung where the chickens can't get tangled in them.

 

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
I wonder if that is what happened to Impy?

Essential oils can be harmful to a variety of animals. I avoid them as much as possible.

 

[chkn]

You know those fly traps in the yellow and green bags you get at hardware and farm supplies are non-toxic.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Quote:
Yes, we have a similar product, and it did work. However, we are losing the battle. I need something to kill a bunch all at once that is also safe for the chickens.

 

[TrystInn]

A little Vanilla Extract (gotta be the real stuff) will drive them away. You can also, try a bug zapper and scatter DE around. Good luck!

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Ok, thanks everyone.

I soaked some paper towels in pure vanilla and hung them from the run wire.

Also, made a mixture of Palmolive and white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and sprayed the wood and ground.

So far, it looks a lot better. The mixture above makes the flies so they cannot fly and the chickens are having a nice feast. The mixture also seems to deter them from the wood (outside perch, walls of the coop, and porch)

I'll go back out in an hour and take a look.

Edited to add: We do use DE on a regular basis out there as well.

 

[bevsbirds]

Can someone give the amounts you should use of the Palmolive, vinegar and water to make a gallon of spray to control the flies? Thanks!

 

[dawg53]

Sand in the pen helps cut down on the fly population greatly. I use sticky fly strips as well. I've used vanilla air fresheners (for cars) hung in my garage to deter flies, seemed to work ok.