Operation Fly Swatter (Aka Where are all these dang flies coming from?)

[ILoveDaffy]

Flies everywhere. Thats pretty much all the explanation you all need right? Most of you will have been in this situation. Like I said, Everywhere. My hens hate it. Seriously, These things drive them as nuts as they make me. I would like to use all natural home remedies to get rid of them. Please share Any advice from your experience. Thanks in advance!


-From me, Panda, and Dandelion

 

[Folly's place]

'All natural' could include fly traps, set out far from the coop and your deck, because they do attract those flies.
Pyrethrum is the product directly from the flower, used as a pesticide. I have no idea where to purchase it, and like all insecticides, shouldn't really be used out doors.
Here we use permethrin, the synthetic form of the above, which lasts longer, is also approved for use in poultry houses and on poultry, and will kill the flies.
Spaldings fly predators do really help, although it's late in the year to order them. They have tiny harmless wasps that only work on flies.
Mary

 

[piminuse]

I've got 2 big takeaways from my own war on flies:

1. Bags work really well. A little -too- well. They smell like corpse farts and attract every fly in the area and, for a time, may make the problem seem worse. They'll fill up quickly and be one of the grossest things to haul to your trash can. Make sure the liquid inside never touches you or your list of top regrets in life will have a new addition.

2. Fly predators are an expensive option ($30/mo), but if you want to watch nature do its thang its pretty rad. Basically, they're little parasites that attack fly larvae to end their life cycle. You'll need to reapply every month or so, but the fly predator service acts like a subscription and will send you live bugs monthly. They've greatly reduced the number of flies in our lives and we don't have to worry about the aforementioned death smell.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

We take 2 liter bottles, fill with 'tasty' smelling liquid (usually sprite) and they cut the top off and invert it. Flies flyin, get suck and drown, adding to the 'tasty' smell to attract morw

 

[JacinLarkwell]

We also use fly tape

 

[cmom]

I use permethrin too. I first used it when I discovered mites in a coop. I treated the coop for the mites and to my surprise it also eliminated the flies. What a pleasure to walk in a coop and not get attacked by all of the flies. Some manufactures also put it in cow ear tags for fly control.