I thought DE helped with flies??

[SobbaChickens]

So do you have an actual recommendation? The run is on rocks so every day I spray off the rocks to keep the poo under control. I mix the coop bedding every day and clean off the roosting bars. I pick up uneaten bits of food.

 

[Mehjr10]

Check this product out.. Organic product. I use it on the dogs for fleas, chickens for mites, coops and runs for flies and spiders.. If you have a BSF Colony keep it away form it.. I go through the run and spay the poop piles were the flies will lay the eggs..

http://www.amazon.com/Monterey-LG61...=UTF8&qid=1374468223&sr=8-1&keywords=spinosad

 

[Spikes Chooks]

i bought a product called enviro-fly from the hardware store here - perhaps you can find something similar. it's a plastic tube about the size of a drink bottle, with holes at the top and a yellow lid with a hook. it comes with a sachet of powder i mix with a cup of water, then hang it in the run where the chooks can't get at it. it attracts flies and then they cant escape. replace the sachet and water every 2 weeks. kinda gross to look at but very effective. i use DE too. i have a sand floor in the run which is small enough for me to scoop the poop each day. all this helps, but it wont stop them completely.

good luck - hope you can find something like this product to help

 

[SobbaChickens]

i bought a product called enviro-fly from the hardware store here - perhaps you can find something similar. it's a plastic tube about the size of a drink bottle, with holes at the top and a yellow lid with a hook. it comes with a sachet of powder i mix with a cup of water, then hang it in the run where the chooks can't get at it. it attracts flies and then they cant escape. replace the sachet and water every 2 weeks. kinda gross to look at but very effective. i use DE too. i have a sand floor in the run which is small enough for me to scoop the poop each day. all this helps, but it wont stop them completely.

good luck - hope you can find something like this product to help

Check this product out.. Organic product. I use it on the dogs for fleas, chickens for mites, coops and runs for flies and spiders.. If you have a BSF Colony keep it away form it.. I go through the run and spay the poop piles were the flies will lay the eggs..

http://www.amazon.com/Monterey-LG61...=UTF8&qid=1374468223&sr=8-1&keywords=spinosad

Thank you both! Will look more into both of those tomorrow

 

[Fancychooklady]

Sweet PDZ helps to control odor , and so keeps the flies under control. It will also help with dampness.

 

[aggiemae]

I think that the best fly control is getting the hens to poop less by feeding them fermented feed. After that the second best ting is making sure the poop to dry out quickly. We use stall dry on our coop floor and in the part of the run that is under the coop, we pick up the dried poop once a day with a cat litter scoop and rarely have flies (or odor) in those areas. As for the rest of yard we use hang lots of the kind of fly traps you bait with tuna and keep the visible poop picked up daily.

 

[centrarchid]

So do you have an actual recommendation? The run is on rocks so every day I spray off the rocks to keep the poo under control. I mix the coop bedding every day and clean off the roosting bars. I pick up uneaten bits of food.

My free-range birds consuming more plant materials attract fewer flies than those consuming largely a formulated ration. Smell better for former as well. Getting the birds away from house to spread feces over broader and grassy area helps as well. Try feeding birds more intact grains instead of the nutrient dense grower / layer feeds. I stay away from poisons since they have potential for killing much more than flies.

edited by staff

 

[aart]

So do you have an actual recommendation? The run is on rocks so every day I spray off the rocks to keep the poo under control. I mix the coop bedding every day and clean off the roosting bars. I pick up uneaten bits of food.

This might be creating an environment for insect reproduction and/or odor generator, nice wet poop in between rocks. Not sure what kind of rocks but....just a thought.

 

[SobbaChickens]

...

This might be creating an environment for insect reproduction and/or odor generator, nice wet poop in between rocks. Not sure what kind of rocks but....just a thought.

Good point. So far there is zero odor. The rocks are big, the run area is an extension of our driveway and unfortunately the only location for the run. Someday when the true run is done then maybe sand, but right now it is what it is :/.

 

[SobbaChickens]

Sweet PDZ helps to control odor , and so keeps the flies under control. It will also help with dampness.

I do have a bag of sweet PDZ but I was saving it for the poop board. I guess if I can't find anything else (thinking price and my location) then I'll give it a shot, thanks!