INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[sirbuster]

I have some kind of small bug butting my clicks ? Any one know what it could be or how to get rid of them.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

I have some kind of small bug butting my clicks ? Any one know what it could be or how to get rid of them.

They are black flies, also known as buffalo gnats. They can and do kill chickens. I use vanilla (imitation or pure extract) mixed with water in a spray bottle, to spritz on the birds. I have no idea why it works, but it does repel the gnats. This works for people, too.

You can also use other vanilla scented sprays (think body mist). Just as long as the spray itself will not harm the birds.

I also hang dryer sheets on the chicken house and brooder windows and spray those daily.

Please search here on BYC to learn other ways to protect your chickens. Someone posted in here that they lost 30 birds recently.

I have a friend that lost her entire flock of meat birds 2 days before they were scheduled for processing.

These gnats are a serious threat and I had never even heard of them three years ago.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

They are black flies, also known as buffalo gnats. They can and do kill chickens. I use vanilla (imitation or pure extract) mixed with water in a spray bottle, to spritz on the birds. I have no idea why it works, but it does repel the gnats. This works for people, too.

I should clarify that the spray repels gnats. Not people.


If only....

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Okay, so it's the smell that repels them and not anything in the extract? I was thinking about those guys right after you made your first post about them and wondering why I had never seen them or had problems with them getting at my birds. There are lots of bushes with flowers on them around the coop, and I was marveling the other day at the fact that it smelled like vanilla out there, so now I'm wondering if that's why.

 

[sirbuster]

Thanks I am trying to see if it will help my chicks.

 

[Quinstar]

They are black flies, also known as buffalo gnats. They can and do kill chickens. I use vanilla (imitation or pure extract) mixed with water in a spray bottle, to spritz on the birds. I have no idea why it works, but it does repel the gnats. This works for people, too.

You can also use other vanilla scented sprays (think body mist). Just as long as the spray itself will not harm the birds.

I also hang dryer sheets on the chicken house and brooder windows and spray those daily.

Please search here on BYC to learn other ways to protect your chickens. Someone posted in here that they lost 30 birds recently.

I have a friend that lost her entire flock of meat birds 2 days before they were scheduled for processing.

These gnats are a serious threat and I had never even heard of them three years ago.

I have never heard of this! I make my own vanilla extract so I'll have to give that a try and be proactive about this when the girls get moved outside. Are there any plants that you know of that help deter them as well.


Quote:
Originally Posted by pipdzipdnreadytogo

Okay, so it's the smell that repels them and not anything in the extract? I was thinking about those guys right after you made your first post about them and wondering why I had never seen them or had problems with them getting at my birds. There are lots of bushes with flowers on them around the coop, and I was marveling the other day at the fact that it smelled like vanilla out there, so now I'm wondering if that's why.

What types of plants are around your coop. Might try to plant some of the same thing if you think that helps keep these gnats out.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Autumn olives and Asian bush honeysuckles are making the vanilla smell. They're invasive species, but the hens love them so much that I've been hesitant to remove them...

 

[me me me]

How close you live to water makes a huge difference. The buffalo gnats needs water for larva preferably running and will travel upto 10 miles to feed

 

[Quinstar]

How close you live to water makes a huge difference. The buffalo gnats needs water for larva preferably running and will travel upto 10 miles to feed

We have a pond in the woods behind our property, so I'll probably need to keep an eye out for them.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
My boy loves to "water" the fenceline. He is still a toddler though. At first I did not want him going in the yard then I found it so much easier than going in and out of the house.