Natural fly repellent for coop?

[ashley74]

So I was cleaning the coop this evening and noticed a lot of pesky flies. If there anything I can put in the coop to help keep them at bay?

 

[Nupe]

I like to feed my chickens a little food grade diatomaceous earth. It passes through the chicken and dries up in their poo where the flies like to breed. It breaks the life cycle so there's not such an accumulation. I've also heard that hanging those vanilla scented car fresheners deters them but there's nowhere in my coop I could hang that without it being pecked at so I've never tried it.

 

[ashley74]

I like to feed my chickens a little food grade diatomaceous earth. It passes through the chicken and dries up in their poo where the flies like to breed. It breaks the life cycle so there's not such an accumulation. I've also heard that hanging those vanilla scented car fresheners deters them but there's nowhere in my coop I could hang that without it being pecked at so I've never tried it.

Dumb question what diatomaceous earth and where can I get it?

 

[Nupe]

DE is fossilized micro algae, basically microscopic rock. To us, its just a fine powder. To a bug, it's like getting sand in your crevices. It gets caught in between the joint segments, scratches up the protective coating and causes the insect to dehydrate to death. It's a physical death so no fear of poisoning but you do want to keep from kicking it up too much because, like any fine substance like that, breathing too much can cause respiratory issues. It's also not very effective when it's wet so keeping a dry coop is important.

I like to put it in my coop when I change out shavings. I put a little bit in their dust bath, and I put a little in there feed. Honestly I have more trouble with flies in my house than in my chicken coop.

You can find 100% food grade DE on the internet, and in health food shops. TSC sells a diluted version by Red Lake that works well enough. Its sold as an anti-caking agent to put in pretty much all animal food. The other ingredient is Calcium Bentonite.