FLIES, FLIES & FREAKING FLIES!

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

There are fly traps with bait- add liquid in bottom, flies go in and die. Many people have success with this.

Fly zappers may work well.

Some people with horses or many animals will buy “fly predators” which are tiny insects that hatch and basically feast on the grubs. But, most effective when you start early in the season - just Google fly predators bc several companies offer them.

You can use sticky fly paper, but not so attractive in your patio-best in other places.

The dog and chicken poop may be attracting them. If possible try to keep the dog and chicken poop farther from the patio or clean it up before fly eggs can hatch.

My free ranging chickens have me following them with a hose to spray their fresh poops. If i leave it, it attracts flies big time. First New chickens, no flies. Chickens now and flies now. My run was too moist a couple weeks ago from misting heavily and the flies were wicked. I went around the yard and added a boatload of dry leaves/sticks/woodsy type material...(brown material) to run and the flies are gone. Also, i will dry out grass clippings and add that brown material as well. I was adding it fresh from the mower bag into run and i had too much 'green/fresh/moist'. After adding brown, the flies have dwindled. Good luck!!

 

[Kelster65]

I've been using the Rescue fly traps and while they are amazing, I was using them incorrectly. My fly issue has since been sooooo much better. I haven't had flies INSIDE my coop because I haven't hung a fly trap in the coop and it's kept clean every day. My run is 20'x30', also cleaned daily. I started out with 2 traps because the lack of rain seemed to attract more flies to the food. The flies got worse and I thought it was because we hadn't had rain in 2 months in almost 100 degree temperatures so I added 2 more. DUH... ok, I've learned my lesson. The traps lure in flies from EVERYWHERE so you don't want to hang these inside your coop, run or anywhere by your house. I knew it lured flies, but thought only where they were placed. So Anyway.... I moved the traps outside of the run to a tree about 30 feet away so that the flies go there instead of inside my run and the smell of rot isn't where we can enjoy it (ha). I still have some flies in the run which are attracted to the food, but not sure how I can stop that unless I stop feeding altogether (um no) or scheduled feedings which is difficult for me to do. The ducks and chickens eat out of clean feeding buckets with PVC hoods, and the flies are attracted to dropped crumbles. I do keep a tray under the feeders to catch dropped feed which I clean out daily. I've also bought some vanillaroma little tree air fresheners which I've heard help as well as Irish Spring soap - they both smell nice and it's worth a try. I'll update on that soon.

 

[Ccort]

I'm in Kentucky and have the same issue. There are NO flies in the coop, only in the run where the chickens and ducks spend most of their time. They only eat and drink outside - I think the flies are attracted to the feed/water stations. I use bucket feeders/waterers that sit in washing machine pans with drains in them but there were a few days that the drain got plugged up and it left a great oasis for the flies. Add in the near 100 degree heat we've had for the last several weeks without rain and I'm sure the flies are finding every bit of moisture they can to lay their eggs. I use the Rescue fly bait system and have 4 in a 20x30 run - there are so MANY flies in the traps and still more around. I have a run full of herbs, use first Saturday lime, a sprinkling of DE, clean up poop every day and yet, THE FLIES.

Find anything to help?

I am also in Kentucky and oh my gosh. The flies are everywhere in and around the run. I bought the Captivating fly trap, which was recommended here, but I still have loads and loads of flies

 

[Kelster65]

Find anything to help?

I am also in Kentucky and oh my gosh. The flies are everywhere in and around the run. I bought the Captivating fly trap, which was recommended here, but I still have loads and loads of flies

I have flies around the crumbles that fall but when I was using the fly trap in the run, it was drawing flies in from everywhere. I moved the trap to about 20 feet outside the run and the flies went with it. I do have sand in the run which quickly dries up poop, but I keep it all clean. The flies were really bad when it was 100 degrees and no rain.

 

[Ccort]

I have flies around the crumbles that fall but when I was using the fly trap in the run, it was drawing flies in from everywhere. I moved the trap to about 20 feet outside the run and the flies went with it. I do have sand in the run which quickly dries up poop, but I keep it all clean. The flies were really bad when it was 100 degrees and no rain.

I actually just posted asking around on here about sand!
What kind of sand do you use? Do you scoop it like you would a cats litterbox? Maybe a stupid question but not sure!

For anyone reading, any experience with hemp bedding?

 

[HumbleAmerican]

Permethrin/perethryn are terrible on bees.

Lost a quart of bees after my neighbor insisted on spraying for flies.

 

[Kelster65]

I actually just posted asking around on here about sand!
What kind of sand do you use? Do you scoop it like you would a cats litterbox? Maybe a stupid question but not sure!

Oh it's never a stupid question. You either love or hate sand and everyone has a reason for their perspective. First, you need to use the right type of sand -coarse sand, not play sand. Play sand is too fine and has silica in it which is harmful to chickens, ducks and humans to breathe (and its what's used in sand boxes). Coarse sand is known under several names like river sand, construction sand, etc. It has a mixture of larger particles. If you can't find coarse sand, you can use all purpose sand. For reference, my coop is 10'x14', run is 20'x30' with 6 chickens and 6 ducks together. I chose sand for several reasons - I don't have anywhere I want to store or dump bedding, don't plan to compost yet, didn't want to use the deep litter method, I didn't want to attract rodents or snakes, sand doesn't hold or create bacteria, doesn't need to be changed but once a year, and it's cleaner. The chickens roost so they don't care what's on the floor and the ducks like the sand. It's cooler and I have no flies in the coop. I have a long handled scooper (amazon) and I clean the coop EVERY morning. The sand dries out the poop so it's easy to scoop like kitty litter and there's virtually no smell. I have about 3 inches of sand down over the concrete floor. I've read that others use up to 6 inches but I feel that's overkill for my application. I also use DE and first saturday lime or stall pdz which I rake into the sand. Sand can harbor mites but the DE and lime take care of that as does the white washing on the walls inside the coop. I bought 2 tons of sand which I planned for both coop and run but haven't put it in the run yet. I will still have a lot left over to switch it out next year. For reference, it was $30 a ton (sold by the ton) locally and we picked it up. Delivery was $240 which was insane, especially since the company was less than 10 miles away. Do your research as sand may not work well in every situation and some people really don't like it. I love it. It's heavy so if your coop is elevated, you need to ensure the floor can hold it.

 

[Kelster65]

I actually just posted asking around on here about sand!
What kind of sand do you use? Do you scoop it like you would a cats litterbox? Maybe a stupid question but not sure!

For anyone reading, any experience with hemp bedding?

Hemp was my 2nd choice, but I can't find any locally. I'd have to order from Amazon, however, some of my reasoning for choosing sand was because hemp wasn't locally available, I'd have to store it and also have to find a place to dump it.

 

[Tonyroo]

I welcome flies in the yard, it's free food for my chickens just as long as I'm swatting them. Lol. They love eating them.

 

[Kelster65]

I will definitely try this, thank you!