HUGE mosquito Prob in Chick coop, Need help!!

[Ema]

I got 40 chicks and 11 turkey poults in the juvenile coop, the last few nights the mosquitoes have been absolutely ridiculous, but tonight they are worse than ever, when I say worse I mean the walls in the barn, the big girl coop and the juvenile coop are covered like a thick blanket. tonight we decided to turn off the heat lamp in the chick's coop, it has been quite hot lately so they truly do not need it, we also went as far as taking citronella bracelets and stapling them up high where they cannot be reached and sprayed the outside of their coop in heavy woods deet bug spray. But nothing is really making a difference.

I need some sort of idea on how to deal with this, or at least someone who has dealt with this before to tell me that maybe I am overreacting the chicks and poults will be just fine!!!!!

Ema

 

[Ema]

I just had to turn the heat lamp back on, the chicks all stopped moving about and well they were like sitting ducks, at least with it on they are chasing after them...I have no clue what else to do...ugh!!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Thoroughly spray and/or fog the barn areas with a spray that will kill the mosquitoes. You probably need to have the birds out while you do this, and until it dries.

Remove all standing water, ot use mosquito dunks if the water cannot be removed.

Get country vet automatic spray for flies and mosquitoes, and an automatic sprayer (the ones for lysol air freshener work well for a third or less of the cost, although you need to change bottle caps

 

[southerndesert]

A bug zapper may help.... Place it away from the chicks 20 feet or so.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

I had a similiar problem with skitters I ended up putting regular window screen right over the heavy wire fencing on the windows of the coop ...it cut down the fly's also ..also if you set up a dish of water with water and dishsoap/cooking oil it may help ....not sure of that one ?.... with all the rain we been getting this year the skitters must be happy ! Good Luck...

 

[Ema]

My dh ended up suiting up in his bug suit and thoroughly sprayed the outside of the coops with every can of deet spray we had. then he took a bale of hay and soaked the outside of it and placed in in our outdoor pits and lit it. it smoldered away for a few hours and the mosquitoes reduced significantly.

We have tried doing a property spray with Bio-mist but that didn't work and it was very expensive, on top of that we couldn't allow the big girls to free range until the grass was thoroughly cut several times to avoid them consuming the chemical.

Where I live there is a lot of water, I have a river nearby. marshes and swap are all around me and cannot be avoided. other than my swimming pool, which is salt water, and the rain barrel which is covered with a lid and fine filter screen.

we had a bug zapper, one of those big big ones, but Dh dropped it and the light broke so now it needs replacing, lol.

tonight we are going to do the hay burning again. and see how that works. we are all out of bug spray, but I have eucalyptus oil and I intent on making a spray and doing the outside of the coop. that should help. Our window in the little peep's coop is screened, but I think they are getting in through small cracks etc.

thanks for your help, will let you know how I fare with the eucalyptus spray

Ema

 

[southerndesert]

Another method is garlic in their food as it is systemic in people and animals and/or sprayed in coop or on birds lightly. It does not work on all species of mosquito, but most do not like garlic. A online search will turn up a ton of application and testing information.

 

[Ema]

Quote:
awesome, thanks for the info I will certainly try this too

 

[bryan99705]

Try putting out some of those "clip-on your belt" repellers on the wire out of reach.

Also what are you using for litter? You could have a litter moisture problem combined with all the moisture chickens generate that is attracting the bugs. Mosquitos have to have moisture to fly. You don't see skeeters when it's a hot dry day but on a cool day after the rain they will fly off with you. try to dry the area as much as you can to ground them and it should help

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Mosquitoes do not need moisture to fly, but they DO need it to hatch. Only takes a day or a bit more (depending on species) for mosquitoes to mature from larvae to adult.