Flies!!!!

[marieclemens]

Hello fellow duck keepers, here in the UK its 30degrees and so hot my duck run is getting full of flies, i clean it daily and am fighting a loosing battle as the flies still keep hanging around. I dont want my ducks to get ill from them any ideas how I can keep this problem at bay? I have only owned my three beautiful white campbells for a week now underestimated how much they go to the toilet Many thanks. xxx

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hello fellow duck keepers, here in the UK its 30degrees and so hot my duck run is getting full of flies, i clean it daily and am fighting a loosing battle as the flies still keep hanging around. I dont want my ducks to get ill from them any ideas how I can keep this problem at bay? I have only owned my three beautiful white campbells for a week now underestimated how much they go to the toilet

Many thanks. xxx

Well a water hose is a duck keepers best friend, also those fly traps made out of recycled plastic and come with the attractant you just add water, they really work but need to be dumped and refilled monthly or boy do they get stinky. inside my houses I use the vanilla car fresheners that hang they really do work too. and welcome to duckdom. Ducks will eat a fair amt of flies too.

 

[starbird]

My ducks have been eating a lot of the flies. Flies are quick and hard to catch. I have left pears on the ground to rot and attract the flies. It is allowing them to catch them easier.

We have had inconsistent luck with the fly traps. Sometimes I leave a glass out with some orange juice in it. Sometimes that catches flies, sometimes not.

 

[SJUDD]

Good day. There is a company called Spalding Labs that sells bugs that eat fly larvae. I have purchased from them and reduced the number of flies in my area greatly. The only problem I have with this is keeping the ducks from eating the bugs... not because they will hurt the ducks but because the bugs can't do their job if the ducks see them as a snack. The next group I purchase I will put where the ducks cannot get to them right away. I go through Toni Dunn for my purchases and can probably get her information for you. I am not positivve if they ship outside of the US or not but I can check with her.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

We have been constantly battling flies since getting the ducks... it is very hot right now and they are a nuisance again. I hose down the patios and duck area whenever soiled to keep the flies from gathering. We also have the traps with fly attractant hidden in the garden. These can really stink, so we keep them far away from seating areas. When it gets really bad we also put up fly strips. Will probably need to do this when the chickens move outside. I will definitely look into the beneficial insects as that is how we solve other pest problems...

 

[Amiga]

Someone offered to me that they use fans for their horse stalls. There are solar powered fans - I don't think you'd need a terribly powerful one.

I use fly traps like Miss Lydia described - wow I really need to replace one today! And I have been using fly predators, this is my second year with them. There are some flies, but not like we had year before last, with just the fly traps.

And I hang a Vanillarama (? I think that's the one) Little Tree brand car air freshener near the night pen door to discourage flies coming in.

 

[marieclemens]

thank you guys for advice going to try your suggestions out xxxxxx