Flies

[Brookliner]

I use PDZ in my poop trays it eliminates the ammonia smell and dries out the poop so it becomes unattractive to flies. I scoop the poop daily. I compost the poop along with my garden waste. I hang the fly traps near the compost pile which draws any flies away from the coop and catches them in a trap that they can't get out of. I just throw away the trap as soon as we have the first frost. This 2 pronged approach keeps flies from reproducing. Keep your coop as dry as possible.

 

[Karen711]

I use PDZ in my poop trays it eliminates the ammonia smell and dries out the poop so it becomes unattractive to flies. I scoop the poop daily. I compost the poop along with my garden waste. I hang the fly traps near the compost pile which draws any flies away from the coop and catches them in a trap that they can't get out of. I just throw away the trap as soon as we have the first frost. This 2 pronged approach keeps flies from reproducing. Keep your coop as dry as possible.

I will pick up some PDZ for sure then thanks

 

[Amber881]

My chickens roam in a large area and cleaning up poop all the time is just not an option. Not only do I have flies I also have biting gnats and mosquito problems as well. Apparently these annoying little bug suckers are attracted to carbon dioxide and find flying in your mouth and up your nose a fun Olympic sport. They can even clog your chickies noses and kill them. Each one of these little buggers I tackle differently. The flies I lure in not run off. I went to tractor supply got a captivator fly trap AND DID NOT PUT THE LURE IN IT. Instead,I took a piece of chicken leg from the package and put that in there. After a short while, I have tons of flies and maggots in there. I sift out the maggots and dead flies into the coop for the chickens to eat and attack like mad animals they do. I do not let them have the chicken leg goo though that's just nasty. If it's still semi-viable to reuse then I just close it up and repeat. If not then I dispose of it and then I hang back up and repeat. It's a win-win. Word of caution here, it smells awful, so if you have a sensitive stomach hold your breath or plug your nose, and try not to wear it because it reeks. Trust me my DH only has to whiff it and starts spewing like that girl on the exorcist, head spins around 360 and he lets loose. Hang it in a place where you don't have to inhale it all day long either. I have mine way back in the run. Maggots and dead flies will not hurt the chickens, it's a great source of protein. Think fly patties instead of hamburger patties. Yummy! I don't spread this writhing pile of maggots and fly bodies around, though, the chickens do that, and none will be left to grow into adult flies. After a day, I can half of a captivator full but I wait until I see maggots and this kills off most the flies in the container. I hang vanilla car scents in the coop, and spray pure vanilla on the chickens themselves. Use a travel size spray bottle half water half pure vanilla. Don't spray them in the eyes. This repels the gnats. Then I put fresh gloves of garlic in their waterers. They aren't fond of it but after a couple days, all the bugs, especially the mosquitos, seem utterly repulsed by the new garlic aroma coming from the chickens. I also don't use vinegar during the summer as it attracts gnats.To answer the question before it's asked, no the eggs don't taste like garlic either. So that's a plus too.I throw DE and wood ash in the run for the chickens to dust bathe in and keep the area dry. Now it rains here on the coast of NC a lot, and hurricanes can make my chickens look like they need to be rescued by Noah during the great flood. Not too much I can about that. I throw grass shavings in to build up the dirt in the run, but overdoing it just lets the grass get moldy so if you do this only put a couple of bags in the run. They seem to mulch it down better when there is less in there. Smells good too.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Be careful feeding maggots to chickens, sometimes they can get botulism from eating them. I have read about vanilla being a repellent but haven't tried it. I just use the sticky rolls hung from the ceiling, just be careful where you walk or you end up with it stuck to your hair. I also do deep litter in my run and have no flies.