Issue with flies

[RouttyChicks]

Went out this morning to clean the coop while it was cool and noticed a lot of flies. Hadn't noticed them previously but i suppose a few days straight in the 90's is to blame.
What does everyone do (if anything) to help control the flies?

Thanks

 

[Shanty]

Here's what I do--and there are other posts on flies in this forum that offer other ideas.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/792569/oh-no-flys-flys-flys/20

 

[RouttyChicks]

I like the bag idea. Maybe i will hang one outside on each end of the coop. Do they last the entire season or should i get some back-up's when i go and get them?

 

[AtomicChicklets]

Borrowed from Fresh Eggs Daily:

Herbal natural suggestions to start with:
Plant basil, dill, rosemary or mint around the run area.
Plant citronella (lemon grass) around the run area.
Open a bottle of Chardonnay and drop a few mango peels into it. Leave outside the run or on your kitchen counter.
Hang vanilla-soaked cotton balls in mesh bags in your run.
Hang sachets of cloves, eucalyptus and clover blossoms.
Sprinkle food-grade Diatomaceous Earth.

These besides good coop maintenance are suggestions for keeping flies at bay.

 

[Erthwrmjm]

I've been reading that a dilution of witch hazel and lavender oil can be used to spray around the yard to repel flies. Does anyone know if this would be toxic to the chickens or my pekins?

 

[Shanty]

Superb long term fixes. Short term? Try a bag.

But DON'T put them at the end of the run--place them off to one side of the run at least 20-30 feet. They will stink and attract the flies AWAY from the coop/run. We use them in the front yard as well, but made a huge mistake. We hung one in our Mulberry tree. All that did was BRING more flies in under the tree with US. Follow up with planting some of those good herbs and flowers. The mango trick sounds good enough to drink/eat.

The bag will fill up with flies, and the water level will drop as they flies drown. You will also see some maggot activity in the bag--of course you will. Add water so it fills up BACK to the fill line you see in the above photo. This photo shows only a few weeks worth of flies. The bags could last a month or two weeks--depends upon your fly load. When they are full I cut them off the fence and let them drop into a plastic bag or a feed bag. I do that the same day the trash pick-up is scheduled. Don't want to mess up the garbage can.

 

[RonP]

Is there poison involved?

Could you not feed them to the chickens?

 

[Shanty]

No, no poison. The flies enter through a baffle on the top of the bag, get trapped, and drown in the water. The attractant is in dry form when you buy the back, inside a mesh bag. When you add the water the dry solids (rotten egg yolks) dissolve into the water in the bag. That attracts the flies. And it stinks so keep it away from the front or back door of the house. For the house I place mine near the garbage container on the chain link fence--that's at least 50 feet from the front door. The second bag is about 90 feet from the front door on the opposite side of the front yard. For the coops I do the same--quite a few feet away. Don't place it inside the coop--it will draw in more flies than you want.

 

[Julie1077]

Food grade diatomacious earth made a huge difference in my run. I also use sticky fly strips and the stinky fly trap/jug.

 

[RonP]

No, no poison. The flies enter through a baffle on the top of the bag, get trapped, and drown in the water. The attractant is in dry form when you buy the back, inside a mesh bag. When you add the water the dry solids (rotten egg yolks) dissolve into the water in the bag. That attracts the flies. And it stinks so keep it away from the front or back door of the house. For the house I place mine near the garbage container on the chain link fence--that's at least 50 feet from the front door. The second bag is about 90 feet from the front door on the opposite side of the front yard. For the coops I do the same--quite a few feet away. Don't place it inside the coop--it will draw in more flies than you want.

Besides the gross factor, why not feed the dead flies to the chickens?