The run is loaded with flies

[Ccort]

My girls run is suddenly loaded with flies. How do I safely rid the run of them? Obviously can't use poison. What's effective but safe? And how do I prevent this from being a routine issue?

 

[3KillerBs]

Does hosing down the run help?

NO! DON'T!

Poop that isn't drying out rapidly is what's attracting the flies. You need to get plenty of dry organic material in there to dry the poop out so that it won't attract flies and so that maggots can't live in it.

 

[Battlepants]

How bad are we talking with the flies? I mean, my run has flies too, they are attracted to the poop that the chickens are constantly dropping.

Might be worth a shot to add more material that will absorb the poop. One popular route for this is to get woodchips to throw in there. I've heard really good things about a site called chipdrop for getting free woodchips from local woodcutters.

 

[knobhillfarm]

If you have some empty 2 litter bottles around, you can quickly put out several fly traps around the area to quickly knock down their numbers. Just cut the top third off the bottle, flip that upside down so it fits snuggly in the remainder of the bottle with the small opening facing down. Put about an inch of water in it with your choice of stinky bait (shrimp or lunch meat are good choices). The flies go in but can’t fly back out the small opening and drown. It starts off slow but builds momentum quickly.

 

[SourRoses]

It's probably worth a closer inspection of your run to make sure you don't have any water leaking or building up that's contributing to this.

How do you water the birds?
How is the drainage of the site?

 

[Battlepants]

You actually put it IN the run? Or near it? And it poses to no risk to the chicks?

I'd probably keep it out of the run. Chickens are very curious creatures with a limited ability to fly. As you can imagine, this will result in a decent deal of shenanigans involving anything they can reach.

 

[Ccort]

Then you probably don't have space to store a big pile of tree trimming chips,
you don't want to pile up a bunch of them right off the chipper.


Vertical or horizontal?

I have a big yard for being in the suburbs..it's the reason I bought the place...and I hope over the top with doing my own landscaping. It's a hobby. So I can definitely spread those chips over existing mulch as well. I'm expecting to save a small fortune on mulch for the yard itself!

 

[rlhagan56]

Here's my fly stick in the run story. Our enclosed run is pretty high and at the peak my husband had put a big yellow fly stick. I came home from work and noticed I had one hen missing. Then my husband came home and as we searched I saw movement above my head walking by the run (I didn't know the fly stick was there). To my horror I saw my Mottled Java stuck to the stick. My husband helped me spend the next 2 hours sawing as much sticky stick we could and carefully snipping feather to get her off it. What a nightmare. Thank goodness it wasn't super hot and she didn't flap and panic as we worked. I was beyond mad at hubby. He called her flystick after that, and he did feel horrible about it all. He isn't allowed to do any chicken chores anymore for their safety

I use PDZ also in the coop and in the run. DE can ause respiratory problems.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Did i mention how much I'm looking forward to collecting leaves this fall?! My guy already thinks im nuts for my chickens. Wait until he sees about 50 bags of dried leaves occupying........ somewhere!

 

[KingD]

Get a RedTop Fly Trap. They work very well indeed. They trap the flies