Well, it's that time of year again. How do you manage your fly problem?

[LaynaDon95]

*sigh* I was so enjoying the winter months with no flies. But they are back again, full force. How do you manage your fly problem? Any ideas, tips, and hints are welcome!

 

[CluckCluck18]

I know what you mean and I'm dreading it, too! It's been in the 80's already and they are out!
One easy, cheap thing is those little, yellow vanilla air freshner trees. I hang one on each corner of the coop and it really helps. The other thing that is more of an investment is Fly Predators....little bugs that eat fly larvae. They are used a lot for horses and livestock but also work for chickens. You just sprinkle them around the yard and boy do they help. Just Google Fly Predators and their website will come up! They cost a little more but I think they are really worth it. Good luck!

 

[aldarita]

I have a fly problem in my place, there are cows all around the perimeter of our property. Last year I got the fly predators.When you call them you have to tell them the size of your property and the livestock around and they calculate the amount of predators you need and they mail them every month. I got the shipment every month for a year and so did my neighbor (she has horses and sheep) she is the one who told me about them and is on her third year of using them. Unfortunately our property is very opened and there is always lots of wind so I am afraid that the predators did not work for me. I also have tons of different wild birds and probably ate the pupae (this is how the predators come in a bag) once they start hatching you spread them where you have the fly problem. I used to go outside our fence and spread them on the fresh cow poop because that's where the flies lay their eggs. My neighbor hangs the bag in the horses stalls. The predators work for her. Too bad they did not work for me

but it is not because they failed, it is rather because of the circumstances of where I live. Too much wind and too many wild birds in the open. So if you don't have any of these issues, I will recommend to give them a try.

 

[mandelyn]

The fly predators didn't work out for us, because we're on a small lot and it appears that the horse farm 1 mile west blows them over. So we do traps for those that arrival, and prevent the breeding of them when they get here by picking up poo every day. We're restructuring the compost right now, cinder block on 3 sides, so that there is less of a cool edge to it. If compost is working right, it's too hot for flies to breed in. Too cool, plus moisture, fly haven.

Having sand as the bedding helps because it dries the poo faster than other bedding types. If you ever watch the flies, notice which poo they go for. You want that stinky stuff dry ASAP to prevent the flies. (they like the super stinky wet ones the best, I'll hit the whole mess of it with a swatter if I see a pile of flies on it out in the yard)

Hanging vanilla scented car fresheners in the coop keeps the flies out of there.

DE, stall dry, and Sweet PDZ are all helpful for odor control and drying the place out.

Really though, staying on top of the poo helps the most. The traps work second best, but they can get bogged down quickly if the flies are breeding nearby. We have 3 traps going at all times, spaced out.

It's been less and less of them every year. Way better than more and more!

Wish all the neighbors would pick up after their dogs too. Lot's of dogs. We have a sealed bucket for putting dog poo in, and we toss it. They create too much for the compost pile to handle. Last year I hunted all over for breeding sites and couldn't really find anything. Tore apart the compost looking for them. Seemed like they were hatching elsewhere and coming over, so we're stuck with using the bag traps. There are 3 horse barns within 3 miles, all west, so they can blow in easy enough.

 

[aldarita]

mandelyn, what particular brand of fly bag traps do you use? I placed 2 bags around my house and they did not catch one single fly, I saw them flying around all the time.It made me so mad

I agree with you, I clean my coop (which has PDZ on the floor and in the roosting boxes) and the run (which has sand) every day. Unfortunately the cows (not mine) have hundreds of flies on their hides and walk around the perimeter of our property. I will hang the vanilla scented car fresheners around the coop and run. However I am wondering what effect they will have for my BioPod which is nearby my coop, I certainly don't want to run the BSFs away

 

[mandelyn]

The scent doesn't travel that far, stays in the coop for the most part. The bag was clear with green lettering. Not sure on brand, got them at TSC. I place them about 2 ft off the ground, not real high, and they're right outside the coop, one to the side of the door, one just outside the side. The other in another corner doesn't get as much action. The one by the door gets the most. In prime season, they'll get so full so fast, I have to hang a new one every 3 days.

 

[aldarita]

Thank you for your reply I will look at TSC for the fly traps. I mainly want to put them around my patio and also I will get the scented fresheners for the coop.

 

[Lorilyn Farms]

There's also a feed thru fly kill. You feed it to the horses and the poop doesn't allow the flies to breed. Also, get chickens if you don't already have them. The bugs at our farm have gone down over 60% with the chickens.

We also use those sticky tapes.

 

[melina90]

In Norway the fly problem isnt really that big, but it's definitely there during the warmest months of summer. I was hoping the chickens would be able to eat some of them - I saw them catching some flys in the air already when they were babies!

 

[ourhouse]

Hi there, I am new to this site and am new to having chickens and find I just love my little chickens. When we first got them we immediately noticed all these flies where there had not been before. I called the fella that we bought our coop and little hens from and he told me he did not have any problems with flies but that he normally used a product called "diatomaceous earth" with calcium bentonite and just sprinkled it lightly in their nesting area and coop. He said he got it a Tractor Supply so we immediately went and picked up 2 bags since it is so good for other animals as well and will repell mites, fleas, flies and lice. I wanted to make sure we did not run out. Immediately, upon sprinkling it in and around the coop, the flies left completely. Since I've been reading that more than a few of you are being plagued with flies, I thought I'd share the info. By the way, the substance is totally harmless and I've even dusted my 4 dogs with it when they seemed to have fleas on them and they stopped scratching almost immediately. Better than those darn chemicals (pesticides). good luck with that.