Freshly cleaned coop - this does not makes sense to me....

[mamasteg]

Do be careful with the PT Alpine if you are around any water. It is listed as an acute and chronic hazard to aquatic life. We have a lot of springs around here, so can't use it - I've resorted to the stinky bag method (Catchmaster). Again beware the water - this time, not to get any on you when throwing them away! The stink is eye-watering.

For fruit flies, put out a saucer of apple cider vinegar. Or a glass of wine if you don't mind sharing.

 

[VERN]

I just cleaned the coop and the covered run yesterday and put fresh thick layer of hemp bedding down (in both the coop and the attached covered run. I walked out this morning and the place is COVERED with flies. Including the coop (their bedroom/nesting area) which I've never seen a fly in (I clean poop daily). I don't understand. When I say covered, I mean I personally walk through a sea of flies when I walk inside, actually, it even starts on the outside....hundreds of them. I'm perplexed....there was dirty old bedding that had been there for 6-8 months and it was just a normal amount of flies, nothing crazy at all. I put fresh bedding and it's a sea of them...

What worries me - I just put my 5 week old chicks out there (separated from the big girls) - and there are is covered too....I'm so worried these flies will hurt them somehow, disease, etc?

I do have fly traps out there - the hanging kind with the stinky liquid in it. But - why would I have a sea of flies after freshly cleaning the area.....? What do I do? What about the baby chicks?

Put the fly traps far away from the coop. See if that helps. The fish stink liquid may be attracting them to the coop area.

 

[bunnie1948]

I have been using fly predators from Spalding Labs out of Colorado for years. My rabbit barn which is far from clean has very few flies. It isn't a quick fix, because the little flying bugs attack the eggs of the horse flies, and other flies. My barn used to house horses. My chicken coop is quite a ways away from the barn, but there are not a lot of flies there either.