what are some things i can do for flys?

[Freckle Face Farm]

Quote:
I have never seen this...Keeps flies away?

 

[dixygirl]

so you put shiny pennies in a zip lock bag with water and hang it on the wall ???
How does that work?

 

[CaGoatLady]

Do you open the baggie so they get in and die, or is it just the shininess that distracts there zillion faceted little eyes?

 

[cmjust0]

I've never heard of the ziplock/penny thing, so I did a little research.. Some folks say leave the bag open, some say close it. Some say no pennies, some say one penny, some say two or three, some say about 20... Some say fill the bag all the way, some say fill it halfway.. The weird thing is, I didn't find much in the way of people saying it doesn't work...most said it works great!

Based on what I was reading, the bag of water apparently looks differently to a fly than it does to us humans... They have a zillion little eyes, and somehow or another, the clear bag of water apparently refracts light in such a way that it appears to a fly to be a gigantic spider web. Some say that the shiny penny makes it look even bigger to the fly, and that the penny will look like a big ol' spider in the middle of the web.

Needless to say, flies aren't big fans of spiders and webs, so they steer clear.

Or, at least...that's the theory.

I might try it.

I think I'll probably fill the bag most of the way, drop the shiniest penny I can find into the center, then close it and nail it up to where light can pass totally through it...seems like that would get the best refraction going.

 

[hen-thusiast]

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You are a lifesaver! I REALLY, REALLY wanted to get fly predators this year for the sake of the horses but was afraid that the chickens would eat all the predators. Now hopefully everyone can have a little break from the hordes of flies. I can't believe how much I have already learned here on BYC.

 

[MtnAngel]

We were having lots of problems this spring with wasps and wood bees... especially in my husbands workshop! Well a guy my husband works with said to hang old cd's. Well my husband put around our house doors the cds... no more wasps and flying bugs! Also we read that alluminum foil works well behind shutters and low and behold it works! We wanted to do this as green as possible.... instead of throwing away the bad cd's... we are using them as pest control!

 

[bethandjoeync]

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I am going to do this today! ziploc bags and hefty bags have been on sale the past two weeks and I have plenty to spare! our fly issues are way worse than I had imagined. we are using straw as bedding in the coop and each week I am hating it more and more. it's like no matter how much I put in there it doesn't seem to work that well. hopefully we can get it all cleaned out and put shavings down. I can deal with dust, but the smell is killing me. I can't seem to get it dry enough. and the run, well it's fine until it rains then PHEW!! is smells bad. we pile leaves in there each week, for them to rummage through and compost for me. after all this rain we have gotten this week, the leaves have kept the run from turning to mud, so I am happy about that. we bought the fly sticky things that you hang from the ceiling (non toxic kind) and it is covered, we are on our second one and it is covered with flies. ugh gotta change this stuff around and see if something else works better than what we are doing now. thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[ducks4you]

Just for you, Blondie, I'm gonna try the pennies in a bag at my husband's office this summer.

And, just for you, MtnAngel, I'll try the CD's in my garden, close to the strawberry patch.

I'll give you BOTH a report at the end of the season. This is, afterall, a Scientific experiment.

 

[MtnAngel]

Ducks4you
I also put cd's (shiny side up) on the posts of my chicken run... should keep the big birds away! We have alot of Turkey Buzzards around.....

 

[Blondie]

Regarding the pennies in a bag: The bag stays closed. It does not collect flies. Apparently the shiny pennies are magnified in the water and it confuses all the eyes on the flies and they stay away.