gnats killed my chickens

[luvinrunnin]

I'm so sorry. We lost our chickens one year to what we call shad gnats. I'd guess they are probably the same thing. They are soft bodied, but swarm and suck the blood right out of them. Don't remember if they clogged the nares or not has it has been quite a few years ago. We do live near the river, and also have a branch that runs across the back of our property as well as some springs that keep the ground wet in several spots.

I'd love to know how to prevent them from harming my chickens.

 

[feather and mountain man]

I started a thread about buffalo gnats and posted a few help tips on there check it out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=503907

 

[bob505]

Is there anything else other than Skin so Soft that you can put on a chicken to keep gnats away? Like a bug repellent or something?

 

[bryan99705]

There is a natural gnat and fly repellant for horses called Equisect. It's a spray that is water based. Good for critters and their housing and we use it on ourselves. Love it and no nerve agent, only warning is for toxic to fish

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Active ingredient http://www.google.com/search?q=Pyga...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

 

[feather and mountain man]

Quote:
Yes Banana Boat sunscrean

 

[RoseMarie1]

When we were kids we lived with our grandpa. We had to put up corn every summer and we had to shuck, silk and cut it off the cob. The gnats were horrible and would always get into our eyes and when you got your hands in corn you can't get the things out until you get your hands cleaned. We found something that really worked but burnt just a bit since it's strong and full strength. ALL we had to do was put our finger over the end of the bottle and dab right under our eyes with it. It burnt just a bit like I said but no longer got those things in our eyes. I found some of it awhile back and bought it. I just took a pic of the bottle so you could see it. It's a very tiny bottle. We are also having trouble with knats here so I diluted it with some water in a spray bottle and sprayed some on my chickens tonight to see IF it will keep the things away from them. Sprayed some on the chicks as well. But like I said, I diluted it because it's very strong. I found mine at the feed store and it's called Pineolene. It's made here in MS. They actually have a website on here to. www.pineolene.com
Anyway I am going to see IF it helps keep the knats off them because they are really pestering them. They also seem to love the fermented foods I am feeding my chickens and chicks. You can't get this IN their eyes or your eyes though so I was VERY careful to not spray it in their eyes!!! You can use it for sore muscles it says, minor cuts, burns, sun burns and other stuff. It says on the ingredient list is has pine oil and pine resins and it's only 2 oz.