I noticed alot of flies in my run???

[deedra11]

Hi I am a first time chicken owner from Florida & I was wondering what the best way to clean a run is? It is just a dirt ground & I noticed alot of flies lately. How often should I clean it out & do you scrub the ramp with soap & water? Should I put anything else on the ground besides dirt? I have 2 barred rock hens, 1 silkie hen & 1 silkie rooster. Thanks!

 

[Patchesnposies]

I need some ideas for fly control, too!

 

[ralleia]

Rather than trying to combat the flies through cleaning, I hang a fly trap with a hormone attractant that's mixed with water. They fly in and drown in the liquid. The attractant smells a bit, but it's not too bad. When the trap is full, you just add the contents to the compost and start over.

 

[franklinchickens]

Using sand instead of, or mixed with, dirt can help. But specifically, I'd sprinkle DE (Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth) on it to dry it out so it won't attract so many flies. The flies go for the poop and food they find - the DE dries it all out and helps keep moisture and odor down. You can get it at just about any farm supply place - we got ours at a local supply shop but I'm pretty sure Tractor Supply has it as well.
Our run has half pine shavings, a divider board, then sand on the other side. I sprinkle both with DE and it really helps.
Someone on here had posted a while back about vanilla air fresheners - the kind you use in a car - keeping the flies down but I don't know if it works. You could also try a fly strip - I tried that last year but it wasn't super effective. We had some fly issues - not terrible but enough that I tried a few things.

 

[chicknbuns]

I also hang fly strips in my coop but my roof is about 7 feet high. I wouldn't advise it with lower roofs as the chickens would get tangled up in it. But it helps alot!

 

[gavinandallison]

Also hang cheap vanilla air fresheners in the coop, buy a spray to refresh them every couple of days, this will help!