Plague of minute flies/midges that bite

[EatonsatCantas]

Help! Not only are we being plagued by these tiny biting flies or midges....not sure what they are really....but the poor chickens are miserable as well. The temps have been very hot with no rain and little if any breeze. Some have found splice under the open sided hanger and the others have retreated all day into the coop but we cannot find a solution. Don't want to spray. The insects seems very active in the sunshine. If one walks over they will suddenly appear within a minute and begging to pester. Bites everywhere.

Any ideas how we can give the poor birds some relief???

Thanks....Ken and Angela

 

[EatonsatCantas]

So sorry...I hate auto correct! That is they find SOLICE....and not begging but begin....

 

[Weehopper]

Would an electric bug zapper work? Would they be attracted to its light? You might go on a Texas forum board, or some of the other more southern states and ask. They have to deal with all sorts of bugs there. I feel for ya, but have no personal experience with midges. Georgia and Florida come to mind when I think bugs. Oklahoma is another. Good luck.

 

[flaflocker]

We have sand flies also called no-see-ups in Florida. I had a bad outbreak and they were biting me & the chickens. I dusted the floor of the run with diatomaceous earth & bought vanilla scented car fresheners and hung them around the outside of the run. After 2 days the flies are gone. I have a 10 x 12 foot run & used 8 fresheners.

 

[coach723]

Vanilla air fresheners do work with many types of flies.
I also use fans. I have one inside the coop, up high, to keep air moving over them when they are on the roosts, and outside the house I put a fan or two on the outside of the fencing to keep the air moving. Makes it harder for the flies to land on target and does help some.
Other thing to do is minimize attractants. If you have rubbish bins or piles, or compost nearby, etc, check those. Gnats and midges tend to be attracted by rotting or fermenting materials and damp.

 

[shortgrass]

We had something similar to that last summer. Very wet spring led to a massive amount of Buffalo gnats. They were relentless and horrible biting little buggers!

Pure vanilla mixed with water, a 1-10 ratio of vanillin/water worked wonders, as did rosemary and geranium oil. I tried OFF and other natural repellants but didn't get near the success of mixing my own with the pure vanilla. I sprayed the hensxdaily, and they managed to get out of the coop, where before, they tried to stay in and hide from them.

Hope you can outlast them; they will only be around for a short while and be gone. Dealing with them was horrendous. They even kept us HUMANS hunkering inside to escape them; I'd take mosquitoes over those gnats again any day