Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Flies Out Of Your Coop?

[cmom]

I use permethrin spray. It works for me. I also use poultry dust.

 

[raingarden]

I sprinkle sand on any wet spots attracting flies to dry them out.

 

[Ribh]

I use deep litter in the coop run & grow a variety of herbs around the borders: rosemary, lavender, mint, lemon balm, citronella & pineapple geranium. The fly trap is there for hot humid days.

 

[SueT]

We don’t have flies in our coop. I have no idea why. Maybe the chickens eat them.

 

[Show Sebright]

I also use diatomaceous earth.

 

[3KillerBs]

I use Deep Bedding in the coop to keep things absolutely dry. Deep Litter in the run keeps poop from building up to attract them.

I will see flies attracted to a fresh dropping in the run, but I don't see any more flies in the coop or run than are generally attracted to anything a fly might like in a random place on the rest of the property. The garbage cans are the problem, not the chickens.

My miniature run-maintenance helpers might be a factor:

I honestly have no idea how a dung beetle gets in and out of a chicken run without being eaten, but I'm happy to see them hard at work.

Good ventilation with deep liter method and never had a fly issue.

Yes. This.

 

[RebeccaRN]

I have sand in the bottom of my coop and scoop daily followed by spritzing with thyme and basil oil mixed in water. No Flys ever

 

[Grandmas Coop]

In the coop, there is a sand floor that gets scoop every morning and put it in a bucket that goes out to dry for garden compost.
In the Run I hang a fly trap and rake the run every day.

 

[bhawk-23]

Perfect timing for this thread! We are going to do our first full clean out of our coop. The deep litter method worked great but the chickens deciding to sleep outside probably worked better. Lol

We did not struggle with flies last year but we had a couple less chickens. They free range mostly so I bet that helps.

Is there something I can spray/put down during our clean out to help deter them? We are also wanting to take care of any bugs living in the coop that we are probably unaware of. Our mama and chicks will be sleeping inside the coop for a quite few weeks (if she stays with them for 7-8 weeks like her last brood) and I bet that will attract the flies.

Thank you!

 

[cmom]

This works pretty well but it's very sticky and you have to be careful where you hang it.