Mosquitos and flies

[carolinacindy]

Help!

Does anyone know how to get rid of flies? Everywhere I have flies! I have mosquitos in their pools. Does anyone know what I can use in their pools to get rid of the mosquitos. I'm not sure of the mosquito dunks. They scare me because my gander will probably pick them up to play with them.

Cindy

 

[Love my Critters!]

Can't help much... but last summer on here there were plans on how to build a fly trap out of a 2 liter bottle, and some sugar water. It was not supposed to stink and it supposively did a good job catching and killing flies. I need to do a search to find the exact way to make it because I need to make one too this year. You could also try DE in the food of your animals and in their bedding. When animals eat DE it will come out in their feces and prevent fly larve from surviving and making more flies.

I really don't know about mosquitos. I know there is a fish you can put in ponds that eat mosquito larve. It is a small fish. Although your geese/ducks may eat the fish

I know that is not a lot of help... hopefully someone else will write in with some good ideas.

 

[cgmccary]

Perhaps try this for mosquitos:

http://www.biconet.com/flyers/mb.html

For flies:

I use a solar fly trap ( http://www.arbico-organics.com/1256001.html or http://www.biconet.com/flies/SolarFlytrap.html) &

a gnat-size wasp that eats fly larvae: http://www.arbico-organics.com/fly-control-program.html

These are non-toxic remedies for flies & mosquitos.

 

[goldenluver]

I went on line to Spalding Fly Predators and bought them, I have set out my first shipmenttwo days ago. The predators lay their eggs in the larvae of the flys and eats them so that their numbers should go down after three weeks since that is the life span of the flies already hear and I have the disposable fly traps out and in two weeks one of them is half full.

 

[CMV]

This is one I have lots of info for. Flies- DE sprinkled everywhere near the chickens, lime dumped on the pig areas as the pigs' pastures are rotated, fly tapes hung in the garage, and fly jars baited with honey water/rotten meat liberally placed all around my property for about 2 acres around my house. Mosquitoes- propane powered Mosquito Magnet near the house, fish in the ponds (mine and my neighbors' pond that I stocked), Mosquito Dunks reapplied monthly in both ponds and in any standing water bigger than a puddle I see around my property. I also have a natural bat cave on my property, but I am still contemplating putting up a few bat houses in the trees nearer to my house. I let several species of birds build their nests on and around my house and have about 10 bird houses currently being used around my yard. I have declared war on the biting insect population in this neck of the woods. It sounds like over-kill, but I spend most of my time outside my house and hate to have to spritz myself with DEET every half hour, which is what I had to do when we first built our house here 5 years ago. It has worked. It is now quite pleasant.
The old timers in my area call the NH state bird the mosquito. Well, not around my house!

 

[Joyryder]

Quote:
What does the lime do?

Jo

 

[goldenluver]

much like DE it dries the poop out and flies can't lay their eggs unless it is moist.

 

[sangel4you]

so I guess it's good to have the bats around huh? Lol I had one practically dive bomb me the other night as I was tucking the chickens in, because he was hanging out on the ledge of their coop in the barn. Wish I could deter him from that area!

 

[carolinacindy]

I am afraid of the DE and the poison. I had a sick gosling a few days ago and I'm kinda thinking that the DE made her sick. Maybe it was the muddy and poopy water, I don't know. Anyway, I have dirt floors in my coops and I don't know if I should use lime or waht I should use. I had fly traps up the sticky ones worked good but the one I bought from walmart (add water to) didn't work as well. Any more suggestions that won't harm my feathered babies?
Cindy

 

[CMV]

The only way the DE made your baby sick was if it is the wrong kind. You need to make certain you are using food grade DE. There are 3 different kinds of lime and you want to use agricultural lime. I don't use lime around my chickens, though. I find that they have very little odor that is resolved by using DE.