My BSFL farm got taken over by houseflies….

[Blingchix6]

I started my BSFL farm in May when the weather got warm enough. I bought a couple thousand live BSFL, I lined the bottom of the bin with moistened pine shavings and
I added some vegetable scraps like orange peels and banana peels. I taped some corrugated cardboard under the lid to encourage egg laying. THEN THE HOUSEFLIES FOUND IT AND THEY INVADED!!!!! Now I only get 3 or 4 BSFL a day; the rest are just regular maggots. I thought of creating a net cover for the box as this will not allow houseflies to get in. It will also keep any mature BSF inside the enclosure to ensure more eggs and more subsequent larva. Am I the only one with this problem? Does anyone have any brilliant suggestions to get those flies reproducing? The ladies go wild for them!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

That's...odd. BSFL produce an enzyme that generally results in a reduction in housflies, not houseflies overwhlming your BSFL farm. I don't have any useful advice, I couldn't get a successful BSFL farm running (likely too hot), but from all the reading I've done, something was wrong with your set up or the houseflies could not have successfully colonized. Usually its the oppsosite, BSFL displacing houseflies.

 

[Debbie292d]

Only thing I would worry about with fly bait is the house flies will get contaminated with poison and return it back to solider fly if they don't die on contact of poison. And what would stop the solider fly from getting it also if they aren't contained.

My experience, they die within a few seconds. I had a dot on one of our windows in the house and watched a couple in action. Pretty cool!

My other experience was walking in the coop once and not being able to open my mouth the flies were so thick, came back with the PT Alpine, held my breath and sprayed a spot on the window they had covered, on the wall next to it, and a few feet over. I came back an hour later there was not a fly in there and they must've just fell to the ground as the chickens had the pellets all scratched away near the window. I didn't see any as they ate them all.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

PT Alpine is Dinotefuran. Its a neo-nicotinoid, and shares broad similarities with the rest of that class of insecticides.

 

[Blingchix6]

That's...odd. BSFL produce an enzyme that generally results in a reduction in housflies, not houseflies overwhlming your BSFL farm. I don't have any useful advice, I couldn't get a successful BSFL farm running (likely too hot), but from all the reading I've done, something was wrong with your set up or the houseflies could not have successfully colonized. Usually its the oppsosite, BSFL displacing houseflies.

I did not know this. I think the houseflies were attracted to the decomposing food. They DID lay some eggs (maggots) in the BSFL bin, but it seemed like eventually the houseflies disappeared and the BSFL took over. There were a lot more of them in the container than I originally thought. When I dumped out the container in the back yard, the chickens were back there scratching away, getting the remaining BSFL. Maybe I was just too panicked about the whole thing. I will try again this year and attempt to just let the insects sort it out among themselves. Lordy, the things I DO for these chickens!!!

 

[Debbie292d]

I wonder if you could try using a fly bait nearby they'd go to and die. There are those stink bags and strips. We use PT Alpine, but I assume this is outside so not sure where you'd spray the bait "dots" at but that would sure get rid of them. If there's some type of structure nearby, you could try spray a dot or two on that, but I think the further you get the less it will attract them from your worm bed.

 

[HeritageFan]

I started my BSFL farm in May when the weather got warm enough. I bought a couple thousand live BSFL, I lined the bottom of the bin with moistened pine shavings and
I added some vegetable scraps like orange peels and banana peels. I taped some corrugated cardboard under the lid to encourage egg laying. THEN THE HOUSEFLIES FOUND IT AND THEY INVADED!!!!! Now I only get 3 or 4 BSFL a day; the rest are just regular maggots. I thought of creating a net cover for the box as this will not allow houseflies to get in. It will also keep any mature BSF inside the enclosure to ensure more eggs and more subsequent larva. Am I the only one with this problem? Does anyone have any brilliant suggestions to get those flies reproducing? The ladies go wild for them!

I am just going to be straight up that I’m not certain what BSFL means.
I’m sure I could look it up. But I’m still doing chores and. Well. Wont.
I am - assuming - that it is some sort of beneficial fly / larvae
.....but I’m not too sure as it sounds like you are happy that your hens are eating them....and fly predators/ similar critters are somewhat expensive, typically have been “engineered “ to not reproduce, and meant for a job, not a meal....
So. I’ll go out on the limb and suggest that you give us more information about what you are using/ trying to use.
And maybe someone else will pop in, in the interim, and make me feel like a fool.
Which happens on occasion and that’s ok

 

[Blingchix6]

BLack Soldier Fly Larvae. You can grow them yourself in a specially designed bin. When the larvae (grubs/maggots/worms) decide they want to become adults, they climb up out of the bin on specially designed ramps designed for that purpose. At the top of the ramp, they fall into a collection bin and subsequently get fed to your chickens. They love them. This year, I had an invasion of house flies enter the bin and lay their maggots in there, and the chickens do NOT eat them. They eventually left but now the weather is too cold for BSFL, so I'm trying to figure out where to put the bin this winter to keep them warm enough to keep reproducing

 

[Blingchix6]

I am just going to be straight up that I’m not certain what BSFL means.
I’m sure I could look it up. But I’m still doing chores and. Well. Wont.
I am - assuming - that it is some sort of beneficial fly / larvae
.....but I’m not too sure as it sounds like you are happy that your hens are eating them....and fly predators/ similar critters are somewhat expensive, typically have been “engineered “ to not reproduce, and meant for a job, not a meal....
So. I’ll go out on the limb and suggest that you give us more information about what you are using/ trying to use.
And maybe someone else will pop in, in the interim, and make me feel like a fool.
Which happens on occasion and that’s ok

Black Soldier Fly Larvae. More nutritious than regular meal worms

 

[Huntmaster]

I wonder if you could try using a fly bait nearby they'd go to and die. There are those stink bags and strips. We use PT Alpine, but I assume this is outside so not sure where you'd spray the bait "dots" at but that would sure get rid of them. If there's some type of structure nearby, you could try spray a dot or two on that, but I think the further you get the less it will attract them from your worm bed.

Only thing I would worry about with fly bait is the house flies will get contaminated with poison and return it back to solider fly if they don't die on contact of poison. And what would stop the solider fly from getting it also if they aren't contained.