Need to get rid of FLYS!!! they are constantly on the chickens and ducks food. Any ideas?

[ldutch123]

Thanks for all the fly trap ideas everyone.
And on DE, I hope no one feels like that will take care of the parasite problems with chickens.  Please check out my link I have posted on my signature line.  DE really doesn't help with roundworms and parasites, but I still use it in the coop, the bedding and in their feed but don't rely solely on it for parasite control.
PS, I just passed the 1000 mark on postings!!!   I just had to share my excitement!!!

I mixed a tiny bit of DE in with the ducks food because the flys are constantly all over it. They seemed to leave it alone a bit but how much of this is safe for them to eat. I only did a tiny bit and also I too was under the impression that DE is not affective when it gets wet therefore didn't work on internal parasites.

Thank you for posting and congrats on your milestone of posts!

 

[questions543]

I saw it but since ive used it and it did work in the real world not a setup like they had.... hate to say it but mythbusters don't always get it right!

well if the setups different how are they not right if they're testing something different?

 

[mini-micro rancher]

I think the myth buster's problems was they used a 'bag of pennies' instead of a single penny....

 

[diggergal]

I sprinkle DE inside the coop and the nesting boxes; in the pine shavings, on the roosts, etc and the flys are not a problem in there at all.

I do have issues with them out in the run, so I spray down that area every day, making sure to hit all the poop spots really good. No poop = no flys. The chickens love when I spray, they wait till I'm done then come in for a good drink in the puddles & dig around looking for worms. Sadly with the heat, there are none, but they are still keeping busy which is good all around.

I swear by the DE even tho other's say it doesn't work. When I have neglected the inside of the coop & flys start coming in, I scrape the roosts, sprinkle DE all over and the flys disappear.

I have never had issues with flys in the layer feed unless someone pooped in it.

I also add it to their scratch or treats occasionally to help with internal parasites

Ditto the above post for me. I spread DE in the shavings and on the poop board--very few flies in our coop. I sprinkle it in the run, especially where the chickens hang out the most. It keeps the poo dry and very few flies and not much odor in the run ( I do have a covered run which also helps keep it dry). I don't know if I could keep chickens without DE.

 

[Kate1]

I live on the gulf coast with high heat and humidity. Preventing flies and animal odor is vitally important to me since I live in a suburban neighborhood with an HOA not friendly to the idea of chickens reducing property values and neighbors with zero tolerance for flies and odors.

I have chickens in the coop/run and the backyard and 3 large dogs who poop in the yard and I have no smell, no ammonia problem in the coop/run and almost no flies. Probably fewer flies than last year when I had no chickens. I use the deep litter method and clean the coop about once every 6-8 weeks. I spray an enzyme mixture every week and it changes organic odors, including the ammonia, to something else and does not allow the fly maggots to live. It is also completely non-toxic to fish (a concern on Florida's coast and waterways) or other animals and birds. No smell and no flies or maggots. The product is Abate-XP and is available from Agri-tec. I found it on one of the chicken sites online- I thought it was on BYC but can't find it again. You can google it.

I started using this in early spring and was hoping it would work when the heat and humidity rose. It does. I also use it on any organic odor from carpets with dog dander, garbage bins, closets and stinky shoes. I do not work for the company nor am I a sales person or representative, I just love this product and would never be without it again.
Kate

 

[aoxa]

Horse flys are awful!!!! I learned that if you kill one somehow all their friends find out and come at u in swarms. I have had this happen so many times. Aaacccckkkk

It's like they are plotting against us isn't it?! Buggers!!

I still have a welt from 2 1/2 weeks ago!!

 

[bridge3318]

Thank You so much, exactlly what i have been looking for. I had info on milk jugs and a one way entrance but it would involve too much ingenuity and materials. hugs many. Thankyou wasps in my garden just for the water is dangerous to those who are deathly allergic. ME and I am a big recycler.

 

[galanie]

DE can and does work if your atmosphere and bedding isn't too wet. The reason for this is that it is a dessicant; it dries things out. I've used it during 70% humidity days and it didn't do a thing because the moisture in the air wetted it so much that it couldn't soak up any from what I put it on. However during the drought last year when our humidity was extremely low for this area, it did work to keep the moisture and thus smell and bugs at bay. It works by drying out the bugs, and anyway if there isn't much moisture around they aren't attracted to the area to begin with.

So if you don't live in an area that typically has high humidity, it isn't going to work as well as in other areas.

I agree with the one saying to remove the mat. It's evidently a moisture trap and a haven for fly larvae. The constant here is keep it dry.

 

[RonC]

I put some of the sticky tape things you hang in the run. Definitely made a difference and they are cheap. Hung them from the roof in the corners high enough the chickens can't get to them. I'm going to give it all a try, pennies in bags, the little vanilla trees, and some DE.

 

[questions543]

wont the vanilla trees be bad for the birds? Also does anyone know if a yellowjacket nest would work?