Fly predators

[DonnaBelle]

Hi all,

I just made a lovely nest of chicken poo and shavings in a chicken wired private area in the corner of my chicken house. In this spot I have deposited 10,000 fly predators. IT'S A TEST.

I am hoping this works, flies are really bad this year.

DonnaBelle

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Same here, I am waiting for development so I can put them outside they just came yesterday. The fly population is so bad this year I am willing to try anything. I already have the stinky traps and DE but it is just not cutting it since getting the geese.

 

[huntercf]

Where do you get fly predators?

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

http://www.spalding-labs.com/?gclid=CJHeyZCGtKICFQmjiQodBVWJ6g

Fill out the "how many animals do you have" questionnaire and they will tell you how many you need, the first two shipments are doubled to get the ball rolling.

 

[calista]

What a great idea to use a natural biological control instead of pesticides to control the fly population!

Please keep us posted as to your results. Also, can you give us an idea of the total investment; how many months per "fly season" do you need to purchase treatments?

 

[Thamnophis]

Quote:
I was told by someone once to only clean the coop once in early summer. According to him, I should just keep adding new bedding on top of soiled bedding all through summer, fall and winter. The decomposing bedding produces heat in the winter and also maintains a natural ecosystem complete with fly predators.

I tried it this year and it seems to work (I know, anecdotal evidence, too small sample size, etc etc). But shoveling the deep partially composted bedding is a lot of work in this heat! It'll be good for the garden though

What ARE the predators?

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

They are tiny wasps that eat all the fly larvae. The first shipment for me was 28.00 and then 18.50 a month for the next four months. My first two shipments have 10,000 the next 3 have 5,000. Or you can pay at once and only order as many as you want.

they work!

 

[Orchid]

Quote:
Tiny non-stinging wasps - important to note!

I've gotten mixed reviews on the fly predators from other horse owners - will be interested to see how they work with chickens.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

We have noticed a HUGE decrease in flys around our place already, I cannot wait to get future orders and see if they can eliminate them altogether. I am very pleased so far. Have any others ordered them new this year and had improvement yet?

 

[HmaximS]

OK, my fiancé wants to try these fly predators in our coop. We have 13 chickens.

What I can't seem to figure out (or find out online) is that I see the common house fly is the most common fly in our coop (and garage and house). These predators supposedly attack the fly larvae (which I thought were maggots), but we don't have rotten food, or feces (or dead animals) to harbor maggots. Am I missing something?