Over run with flies!!??

[earnhardtlvr]

Is anyone having a big fly problem this year? They obviously r especially bad around the coop & run no matter how much we clean and we use DE religiously. They r just really bad everywhere this year! We like to sit out and wath the chicks in the evenings and cannot even do this to the flies being so bad. Anyone got any ideas?? So far we have been using the DE alot and have hung some fly paper around. Still a huge problem!

 

[mallory2013]

The flies are terrible this year, I agree! We have horses as well and we starting using fly predators in response to the flies around them and they are AWESOME! I recommend them. We have fly strips in the barn and also I use LOTS of fly spray... they are just indestructible I guess.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I bought a fly trap and made a bunch of homemade ones too. So far nothing is helping.

 

[earnhardtlvr]

Quote:
what r fly predators? something I can get at local co-op? Thanks for the hep!

 

[F106A]

Check out these threads. Lot's of good info...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=521900

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=520620

Good luck,

Mark

 

[riverman]

Quote:
what r fly predators? something I can get at local co-op? Thanks for the hep!

I was having a horrible problem with flies around Feb & March, they were especially bad outside the coop on the poop all over the ground. Then I bought a pair of Cayuga ducks for breeding and some more diversity and they have completely smashed the fly population. They were in the same pen as the chickens and would wait for the flies to cluster up on the ground and run up and grab whatever they could. My recommendation is ducks outside the coop and DE inside

 

[WallTenters]

I too have been battling flies this spring! I wonder if all the precipitation meant they had more places to lay eggs, so now there are more flies, laying more eggs?

 

[chickymomma68]

Have you tried feeding your chickens (well really all your animals) food grade diatomaceous earth. Or you can put it in bedding or where they poop. You can feed it at a rate of 2%. It will kill the larvea and stop the cycle. Many health benefits. Google it. I'm to lazy too list them all, but good stuff!
Good luck!

 

[Keltara]

I know this may sound crazy, but when we built our coop this spring, instead of using pine shavings on the floor, I use sand. The sand is completely odorless. I mixed some Sweet PDZ and DE in with it. I have a really large kitty litter scoop and just use that to clean it daily. My coop floor is 4x4 and it is raised. I put disposable roasting pans on the poop board under the roosts and put some sand in them as well so the poop won't stick. It takes me between 1 and 2 minutes per day to clean the poop. I'm not kidding. It is sooooooooo easy. I just scoop it with the kitty litter scoop and fling it into the woods. The sand sucks all the moisture out of the poop and you don't have to deal with the mess shavings that are only clean the first moment you lay it down. We are going to be putting sand in the run this summer as well. It is AMAZING stuff. Our chickens are very clean as well as their home.

 

[Gooter]

I just got a pair of Muscovy ducks specifically for fly/bug control and in the week I've had them there is a massive drop in the fly population! They hang with the chickens, require only a small pan of water (they enjoy a small pond, but aren't really as much into water as other duck breeds...so they're less messy) to bathe in and they eat the same feed. I LOVE them! To watch them hunt around the yard is entertaining. Not only will they control the bugs that the chickens don't get, but they'll lay eggs next year for me. Good work animals! Peaceful, quiet and effective, if not beautiful.