How to keep flys/nats/bugs out of coop?

[Annalyse]

I have some flys and at night theres like a whole bunch of tiny nats in the coop and I dont know how to get rid of them I clean there coop every week but yes still gets smelly and poop all over during the week but any ideas on how to keep them put?

 

[BDutch]

1. More ventilation
2. Clean more often or just take the out.
3. More ventilation.
4. Use Diatom Earth in the sand bath and sprinkle it on the bedding
5. More ventilation.
6. And even more ventilation.

 

[Annalyse]

1. More ventilation
2. Clean more often or just take the out.
3. More ventilation.
4. Use Diatom Earth in the sand bath and sprinkle it on the bedding
5. More ventilation.
6. And even more ventilation.

Yea lol we have ventilation but I may add more bc the window that opens up doesnt really need to be open during fall/winter (we have others not just the window). I'm going to be adding a poop board to get most the poop out. I used to keep putting DE in the bedding but no I add it around the windows and roosts bc I got to dusty. I have these herbs that I put in to help with smell and pests.

 

[Big Doggie]

Yea lol we have ventilation but I may add more bc the window that opens up doesnt really need to be open during fall/winter (we have others not just the window). I'm going to be adding a poop board to get most the poop out. I used to keep putting DE in the bedding but no I add it around the windows and roosts bc I got to dusty. I have these herbs that I put in to help with smell and pests.

Have you tried PDZ granules? My coop floor is straight PDZ and it absorbs ammonia very well.

 

[Annalyse]

Have you tried PDZ granules? My coop floor is straight PDZ and it absorbs ammonia very well.

What is PDZ granules?

 

[AntiqueB]

Google PDZ Stall Refresher (I use the granular), or ask at a feed store. I use it, along with lime, in my coop, with pine shaving bedding. I have a couple flies during the day, but none when I open the coop in the morning. I also scoop the poop I can easily see every day. I add PDZ and the lime if I add a lot of shavings, and DME perhaps monthly, in the morning so the dust settles by the time they go in to sleep.
Of course, I only have 3 chickens, but the coop's very tiny, and been kept like this from the start (2 months ago). I have no issues (smell-wise) sticking my head in there, and I haven't had to even change the bedding completely at all.
I basically took every piece of advice I saw and combined them!

 

[Annalyse]

Google PDZ Stall Refresher (I use the granular), or ask at a feed store. I use it, along with lime, in my coop, with pine shaving bedding. I have a couple flies during the day, but none when I open the coop in the morning. I also scoop the poop I can easily see every day. I add PDZ and the lime if I add a lot of shavings, and DME perhaps monthly, in the morning so the dust settles by the time they go in to sleep.
Of course, I only have 3 chickens, but the coop's very tiny, and been kept like this from the start (2 months ago). I have no issues (smell-wise) sticking my head in there, and I haven't had to even change the bedding completely at all.
I basically took every piece of advice I saw and combined them!

Thank you!!! I was going to get help bedding for winter bc it helps with smell and absorbs the poop but I might mix the PDZ and hemp bedding together and see what happens I'm going to be adding in a poop board type of thing and getting the flys trapped in between the window out lol. I never thought of using horse bedding stuff for chickens to be honest and yea I'm going to be doing DE every month but I still have to dust there coop bc somehow they still dusty and then I have to clean the vents as well bc of it haha

 

[cmom]

I sprayed originally sprayed my coops with permethrin because I discovered I had a mite infestation. The bonus was it also eliminated the flies. It's such a pleasure to go into the coops now without flies everywhere. I'm sure it would control other pest too. I know some people swear about DE but it didn't work for me and I was getting real concerned that I might loose some birds because they were quite heavily infested with the mites and the coops were still loaded with flies too. I thought the birds were just molting because it was during the molt when the mites struck. Everything worked out and the birds improved and are great now and the flies are gone. The bonus is there is no egg withdrawal period. Good luck with whatever you do...