Too many flies!

[werttyy]

There are flies everywhere surrounding the coop and the area the chickens are allowed to roam. I'm pretty sure that this is because of the hot season. Right now, it's not even that hot! I'm so worried that by the middle of summer, there will be flies everywhere, not even just the coop and area they are allowed to roam in. Please help! By the way, I clean the coop once a week, and I clean the place they are allowed to roam once a month. Oh, and the place they are allowed to roam is right beneath the HUGE pine tree in our backyard. Since they have only been outside for two weeks, I haven't cleaned it yet. The chickens walk on the pine needles, that I have researched to work. How should I clean that area? The poop blends in with the needles, and I'm just unsure altogether how to clean it. Thanks again.

 

[pimachickens]

As far as the flies, some people have had luck with food grade DE. I haven't used it myself, but there are a lot of posts about it. As for the cleaning, were you wanting to leave the pine needles? If so, could you just water it down periodically? I have a dirt area that I do this with, and the poop just absorbs into the ground. Otherwise I would say rake it all up like you would the coop.

 

[kyrose]

ive read quite a few posts saying vanilla air fresheners are good at keeping flys away,altho i havent tried it yet..