I Hate Flies!

[nancy1zak]

The flies we have are the tiny black flies. I throw the poop out. I purchased the vanilla trees, but they smelled nothing like vanilla. How about if I were to dab vanilla extract in the coop?

 

[chick4chix]

Quote:
DON'T Throw the poop out! You are throwing away fabulous organic fertilizer for your garden (if you have a garden) and if you don't have a garden- someone will gladly come and get it from you who does have a garden.
It can be used without being composted as a mulch if it is in litter such as pineshavings or straw- I compost the nest material and everything in their run in large 50 gallon trashcans with holes drilled in for air- I also put all my kitchen scraps in it- IT makes the best fertilizer and loam in the WORLD!!! It doesn't smell either- and no flies if you keep it covered with a tight lid and keep turning it with a shovel to make sure there is a convering of straw or shavings on top.
Another thing you can do with it- is pile it up in the corner of the run and throw your coffee grounds bags and all on it- the chickens will dig it all in for you and after a few months, again you have fabulous soil topping.

 

[chicksbestfriend]

Quote:
As everyone has mentioned, the vanilla tree shaped car freshners really help to keep the flies away, I dont need to use them in the coops and henhouses, I use the freshners in the dog kennels and runs. I use dried spent coffee grounds on the bottom of my poop boards. I use the flat oil pan trays from the automotive store and sprinkle a solid layer of coffee grounds down. The litter dries almost as quickly as it hits and the coffee grounds absorb all the odor. I have 61 birds on the roost at night, I only have to clean the boards once a week, there is no odor, no flies. It takes me all of a few minutes to clean it up with my little car dust pan. (Love the automotive sections). I spray the walls, and window screens in their henhouse and coops once a month in the summer, every other month in the colder weather with horse fly repelent; I like the Bronco brand. Seems to be working, because I rarely see any flies. All the litter that I collect, either goes into the compost, makes as awesome activator to break up everything else in there, and I also make tea out of it to feed all my plants and vegetables. I use to sell bags of the manure cheap, but now sell the tea. Muscovy ducks are wonderful to have, as they love to dine on flies so they take care of the rest of them on the property. I read in another post on this site that someone else is using sand and had the same effects as the coffee grounds from what I understood. Good luck!

 

[BloominOrchid]

WE HATE FLIES!!
We use DE all over the yard (aka the run) and I have the silly car trees up too, some in the coop, some in the yard, but mostly by my house doors, BC I HATE WHEN THEY GET IN THE HOUSE

So far a reduction in flies with both.
Make sure any vanilla you use is PURE and has no corn surp in it...Good Luck!

 

[WVchick71]

We too have had a horrible time with flies this year!! In the house, coops and in the vehicle! I went a couple days ago and bought some of the vanilla trees and ....NO FLIES!!! Yay! I am gonna buy stock in those now..lol

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
I layer the manure piles with Ag lime. It seems to keep the smell and flies down but we still had flies. The chickens free range so there is pockets of flies everywhere.
Tried the Vanilla thing, still had flies, but they went to other places. Maybe it works better for small places or small livestock populations.

I bought Fly Predators and after a week NO FLIES! at all, anywhere.
Fly predators already exist in the environment but adding more really knocks down the flies. I think they eat the pupae of six different types of flies.
Manure flies, face flies, Blue Bottle, Bot flies etc..
I noticed with the chickens ranging around the pond and swamp we don't have any Horse Flies this year.

 

[Sweetpeaswan]

Flys really can be a PIA! I've used fly sticks which work pretty well and don't smell. I love to use DE, it helps keep things dry, some
folks like to use sweet pdz. Theres also a product by Durvet/the fly rid people they have a aerosol spray approved for use in poultry
houses and coops. I sometimes use it when the girls are out on the run and spray the coop down. Theres also a product called
Poultry Protector..Its great for cleaning down the coop, and gets rid of mites and other little critters,and is safe to use on your girls..
It's a natural enzyme...its by the same company that makes the natural barley bags; Good luck!

 

[Peep_Show]

This is going to sound strange, but it works. Try Avon's Skin So Soft bath oil mixed with water in a spray bottle and spritz the coop or wherever.

I had a horse with a horrid abscess (in a fly-filled barn) that I didn't want to use insecticide on an open wound. I wiped this on and she was fly-free! Smells nice, too. (Well, okay, smells real frou-frou-y). Avon's Skin So Soft has been touted for mosquito repelling, but it does work for flies.

 

[chicksbestfriend]

Quote:
LOL! I thought I was the only one to use the Skin so Soft by Avon. I keep a little spritzer in the coop and periodically spray down the chickens before letting them out, it also works good at keeping the fleas and ticks off them, not to mention, makes them smell good!

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
That has been around for quite a while--longer in fact than Deep Woods Off--and works for black flies and no-see-ems. Smells better than DEET too.