flies in coop and run

[goldeneggtees]

Hi, my chicks have only been in their coop one week and already I am seeing flies. there are 8 chicks in a fairly large area and it's clean as it's fairly new. question, what can I do to keep the fly population down? Is it DE? and if so, where do I buy it from and how do I use it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[valentinebaby]

Absolutely use DE for smell and fly control. It also dries out wetness and keeps mites and lice to a minimum if you have that problem. Search for posts on "Stall Dry." Tractor Supply sells it and I've heard it works great on flies. It has both DE and clay particles in it. I recently bought a bag of this due to the enormous amounts of rain we've had this past month and it did help dry the soil up quickly.

Right now, I only have mosquito problems here in North Texas! But I've been using DE sprinkled in the coop and have no fly problems. My farm supply store (not TSC) sells 50 lb. bag of DE for around $19 or so. Much cheaper to buy in volume. Just call around and see who sells it where you are.

 

[Hidden Blessings Farm]

Ok I have a silly question. What exactly is DE?

 

[valentinebaby]

DE is diatomaceous earth - search for it on this site and you'll pull up lots of info on it. You must be certain that when you use it, you buy food grade only. There are 2 forms of DE - food grade and the kind used in swimming pools. You don't want to use the swimming pool kind.

 

[valentinebaby]

I use DE both in the coop and the run. In the coop, I sprinkle it over the pine shavings and lightly stir it in - it helps to keep the smell down, kills mites and lice, and helps dry the poop.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

Is Stall Dry safe for chickens? I looked at a bag of it today at TSC and it doesn't mention using it for poultry. How would you use it in the coop, under the pine shavings... on top... mixed in?

 

[cgmccary]

I use bio-controls (fly eating nematodes & gnat size wasp that eats flies) and a solar fly trap (with fly bait). Diatomaceous Earth (DE) was NOT effective for me & I quit using it a couple of years ago. I don't like using poisons or anything that harms the beneficial insects.

http://www.biconet.com/flies.html