Flies, Flies everywhere!

[onelovedove]

Hey Y'all! I have 3 hens and it brings all the flies to our yard! It's disgusting, so disgusting that I can't spend quality time with my hens without getting attacked by the millions of flies!!! I tried the sticky tape and there are maybe....2 flies on it from being out 3 weeks. I've also tried the bag that you add water to and it hardly did anything.

It doesn't help that I live at home and my mother is constantly nagging about all the flies that are coming in when they smell her delicious food.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What type(s) of flies are you dealing with? Different types of flies have different things that attract them to an area and different methods that are most effective in controlling them.
Are your birds mostly free ranged in the yard or mostly confined to a coop and run setup? If confined, what are the dimensions of the area? How many birds are you keeping? What is your management/maintenance routine for their housing? Are you in an area that has had a lot of rain recently and, if so, how well drained is the area the birds are in primarily? How close are the birds housed in relation to your house?
If the "bag with water" is one of the traps (the other bag with water is the ziploc, water, penny trick said to deter flies), part of the issue may be where you put the trap as many folks make the mistake of putting the trap where they have a fly problem. The issue there is that the trap is baited with an attractant and rather than fixing the fly issue you end up luring MORE flies to the area you already are unhappy with having flies in -- you want to hang the baited traps in a fly-attractive location AWAY from where you don't want the flies.

 

[Trefoil]

I use fly traps with an attractant. Hang away from where you spend a lot of time.

• . For best results: Use bottled or soft water. Hard water or heavy chlorine will inhibit effectiveness.
  

What may help is to use a fly swatter and give the dead flies to your chickens, teaching them to eat flies.

 

[Mutt Farm]

What type(s) of flies are you dealing with? Different types of flies have different things that attract them to an area and different methods that are most effective in controlling them.
Are your birds mostly free ranged in the yard or mostly confined to a coop and run setup? If confined, what are the dimensions of the area? How many birds are you keeping? What is your management/maintenance routine for their housing? Are you in an area that has had a lot of rain recently and, if so, how well drained is the area the birds are in primarily? How close are the birds housed in relation to your house?
If the "bag with water" is one of the traps (the other bag with water is the ziploc, water, penny trick said to deter flies), part of the issue may be where you put the trap as many folks make the mistake of putting the trap where they have a fly problem. The issue there is that the trap is baited with an attractant and rather than fixing the fly issue you end up luring MORE flies to the area you already are unhappy with having flies in -- you want to hang the baited traps in a fly-attractive location AWAY from where you don't want the flies.

X2. Check your housekeeping, don't leave fresh fruit or veggies out, or any rotting food source, moist areas where they poop are breeding areas for flies.