Flies in the run

[PearlTheDuck]

On warmer days the flies have been in the chicken run and in the upcoming hot Texas summer they're horrendous. What homemade stuff or products from the store can i use to rid of the darn things? i cannot plant anything because of my pigs.

 

[zephyricle]

You could hang up some of those plastic fly trap bags up in a tree.. that's my solution XD

 

[aart]

On warmer days the flies have been in the chicken run and in the upcoming hot Texas summer they're horrendous. What homemade stuff or products from the store can i use to rid of the darn things? i cannot plant anything because of my pigs.

You have pigs and chickens?
Are your chickens free range or in a run?

 

[donrae]

We had pretty good luck last year with the fly predators from Spalding Labs. I don't think we ordered quite enough, as we did still have fly issues, but it was a lot less than in previous years.

with the birds, since I didn't want the chickens to eat the larvae, I would put them (the larvae) in containers out of reach of the birds until they all hatched. Directions say to sprinkle on the ground, but then I would have just had well fed chickens, not exactly what I was looking for

.

combined with some fly traps, some sticky tape, and manure management, we did okay last year. But, with the animals, it's always an ongoing battle.

 

[aart]

We had pretty good luck last year with the fly predators from Spalding Labs. I don't think we ordered quite enough, as we did still have fly issues, but it was a lot less than in previous years.

with the birds, since I didn't want the chickens to eat the larvae, I would put them (the larvae) in containers out of reach of the birds until they all hatched. Directions say to sprinkle on the ground, but then I would have just had well fed chickens, not exactly what I was looking for

.

combined with some fly traps, some sticky tape, and manure management, we did okay last year. But, with the animals, it's always an ongoing battle.

Browsed around the website a bit.....and can't find what these 'fly predators' actually are.
Assume it's some kind of insect, but why don't they say what the are?
No FAQ section either<scratcheshead>

 

[donrae]

I don't know what they were. Just know they come in a little bag, tiny worms that hatch into tiny flies, I release them and I don't have so many flies. No issues from these little guys, either.

 

[aart]

I don't know what they were. Just know they come in a little bag, tiny worms that hatch into tiny flies, I release them and I don't have so many flies. No issues from these little guys, either.

Will they overwinter/reproduce?

 

[zephyricle]

Release the spiders!

 

[donrae]

they don't seem to. I don't know if it's the business' way of revenue generation, but they send out more every.....I think it's 3 weeks or so? Not sure why they don't reproduce. I might be more interested in a sustainable option, but for less than $20 a month, and no more effort than it requires on my part, and the results, I'm good with it. I'm not good about things that require daily effort like sprays....and leery of chemical pesticides anyway. I need something with minimal effort on my part, and these do the trick for me.

 

[aart]

they don't seem to. I don't know if it's the business' way of revenue generation, but they send out more every.....I think it's 3 weeks or so? Not sure why they don't reproduce. I might be more interested in a sustainable option, but for less than $20 a month, and no more effort than it requires on my part, and the results, I'm good with it. I'm not good about things that require daily effort like sprays....and leery of chemical pesticides anyway. I need something with minimal effort on my part, and these do the trick for me.

That's why it would be good to know what insect the 'fly predators' are.
Think there are other companies that might be more forthcoming as to what predator insects they are selling.