Flies!!! What to do?

[Sc00ter4900]

Quote:
I hate to sound dumb but do you mean to put the apple cider in a bowl in side the coop? will the flies drink it then die? Or do you mean to put it in the chickens water for them to drink? If so How does that reduce flies?? Thanks and sorry just a little confused Scotty

 

[Billy7871]

DE is way to expensive for me to buy. I have flies also but they dont eat the chicken feed the eat poop so they are not costing me anything so why would I spend $40 for DE. I will try the fly trap in the earlier post.

 

[woolymama]

I had a huge fly problem once the run got muddy (we had a very wet and humid summer) and then I had a major maggot problem as well.
I let the run dry out and coated the dirt with garden lime - then topped that with a few inches of sand.
Nary a fly since, and the chickens love the sand!

Inside the coop I sprinkled lime under all of the wood chips, and as long as I clean out the poop regularly the flies stay away from there pretty well, too.
Good luck!

 

[BoJak]

I got a non-toxic fly trap at CAL-Ranch called Pop or something. They recycle old 2 liter pop bottles with a trap thingie on top and the rest of the pop bottle on the bottom. You fill the pop bottle to the line they have marked and then put the attractant in the water, and then put the top on. It's non toxic. Only fair to warn you that you don't want to add the attractant to the water in your house. The smell is very pukey. I'd describe it as essence of rotting road kill magnified about 10,000 times. It's not noticeable outside but doesn't disperse as quickly indoors.

I hung it out one afternoon and looked at it the next morning and there was a layer of dead flies about 1/2" thick floating in the bottle and a couple dozen buzzing inside the trap. I guess they get tired and drown. Several days later the bottle was completely full of dead flies. I had no idea there were that many flies in the whole county, let alone the town. I loathe flies so I enjoyed watching the dead flies pile up inside the bottle.

I liked it so much I went and got a few more refills. they're about $2, and last until the bottle is pretty much full.

I can't use sticky strips out here because it's windy.

 

[stethomps]

GO to TSC, and pick up a bottle fly trap for around 5 bucks. It is a bottle with a one way in lid and bait. You just have to hang it around the coop and it will soon be full of dead flies. These things really work, but the down side is the bait is really, really, really stinky. Oh did I mention you'll have to put up with the smell, but once your flies are gone; you can move it a bit farther away, and the smell wont be so bad.

 

[geofk]

Check out the forum post on Stall Dry which contains non-food grade DE and clay. Many seem to like it and it is much less expensive than food grade DE

 

[gsim]

DE is great for their dust bath too. I would also do the 6" wide fly paper that you see in dairy barns. I notice them worse outside when we have a dry spell. Coop is never bad as long as poop is occasionally removed from beneath roosts. Poop plank good for that too. Just pull plank and take it outside for hosing down. Best to glue scrap of linoleum on top of the poop plank for easier cleaning.

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
Thats what I use it works for me. I use DE and it doesnt keep flies down.