Gnat Issues

[LowesChickenRanch]

Hi! We have (16) 4 week old baby chicks and just transferred them to the chicken coop yesterday. They were getting too small for what we had in the garage but we blocked off the run for now. I went to check on them this morning and found that there is gnats, or no-see-ums, swarming their heat lamp. I turned the heat lamp off for now but need to find a solution ASAP to get it turned back on. Our poor chicks kept shaking their head and scratching. Any help would be great! I tried researching this morning but was unable to find information on this issue.

 

[azygous]

I lived in the desert for many years, and once I decided to inspect all the no-see-'ums that had alighted on my arm. I looked through a magnifying lens and counted seven different species. Some had impressive mandibles and were sawing their way into my skin for a drink. Pretty amazing the amount of suffering these miniscule beasts can inflict.

If these no-see-'ums are the blood sucking variety, you need to do something to protect your chicks from them. They can cause anemia and even death in baby chicks if they are overwhelming.

If they are attracted to the light and not the body heat of the chicks, the chicks should have fun going after them. If the bugs are going for blood, you may need to bring the chicks back into a protected environment until they are large enough to survive the attack of these tiny beasts.

There are non toxic insecticides you might try treating the premises. Or try making your own out of essential oils. http://www.experience-essential-oils.com/homemade-fly-spray.html

 

[LowesChickenRanch]

I checked back since I turned the heat lamp off and the gnats are gone. I lost my thermometer so I am going to go back to the store and test out the temp in the coop. I live in FL so it is pretty warm outside. The chicks seem to be shaking their heads a lot more today than normal though.