How to keep flies under control

[jennychick45]

I have not enclosed the coop part of my run yet so it is basically a huge run with a platform that they sleep on for now. By the time winter comes it will be enclosed. Anyways to get to the point since it is fly season my run and the platform is filled with flies I have one fly trap in there but it is not big enough for all of the flies. It rains here almost every day in Texas by the Gulf so any suggestions? I don't want to put bedding down and it get washed out of the run. Also what do y'all use as bedding?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cuccismith]

You really just have to keep it raked well. Everyday I rake up whatever poo is there and get it out into the yard. Hose down any surfaces that are not rake-able. And I even pick out the big poo with my gloves. It helps. In my run we just have dirt under. In the coop I use shredded paper from work. It's compostable and I throw a little DE in it and there are no bugs.

 

[CityFarmer202]

More fly traps!! I use wood shavings, straw, hay, and sand in my run. The sand ifs easy to clean in the run, and in the coop i prefer shavings.

 

[jennychick45]

More fly traps!! I use wood shavings, straw, hay, and sand in my run. The sand ifs easy to clean in the run, and in the coop i prefer shavings.

how do I keep the bedding in the run wether it is browns or sand or even dirt like I said it rains a lot down here.

 

[CityFarmer202]

not sure...is it on a hill??? Here in Alabama it rains alot too, and shavings don't work outside because they get soggy too quickly...I rake the sand everyday and have had pretty good luck with it. The runs are also made out of a wood frame and hardware wire, so i haven't had too many problems with it washing out, except when it rains really hard all day.

 

[jennychick45]

not sure...is it on a hill??? Here in Alabama it rains alot too, and shavings don't work outside because they get soggy too quickly...I rake the sand everyday and have had pretty good luck with it. The runs are also made out of a wood frame and hardware wire, so i haven't had too many problems with it washing out, except when it rains really hard all day.

what kind of sand do you use?

 

[Traphill]

I am in upstate SC and we are getting tons of rain...I use lots of the black fly strips (they are cheap) and I keep adding straw, leaves etc to the run to keep any smell issues at bay.

 

[patti17340]

I hang those fly trap bags several feet away from the coop in a tree. I change them out about every two weeks and I also use sticky fly paper in the coop. I have friends who raise horses and she says they use a fly spray in the barns but I did not know if it would be safe to use around the chicken coop. Has anyone used Horse Fly spray ..

 

[CityFarmer202]

regular playsand