what do you do for fly control and mosqitoes

[lorain's fids]

Wondering what the best thing for fly control is.
I only have 5 chickens and I pick up their poop more than once a day but I still have a ton of flys. I can only imagine what the fly problem is like for people with many chickens.
I hung up a Rescue fly trap--that is working really well, but it is now starting to stink. In their run I have sand -that works really well with the flys and the poop, the big problem with the flys are in the area of my yard where the chickens are allowed to run free. Maybe more than 1 fly trap is needed.
I have heard about using vanilla air freshners in the coop do they really work?
Is there anything to do to control mosquitoes in and around the coop? I am thinking about putting screens up over the hard wire on the 3 windows in the coop.

 

[chooniecat]

The yard flys I personally don't care about but in the coop I have fly tape (where chickens can't jump into it). I DISPISE glue traps for the mammals(don't use them for rodents) but I tolerate the fly tape in coop as I rarely find anything other than a fly stuck to them(acceptable bugs don't go in coop!!!!????!!!) I have 46 chickens in a small coop(they are released at sun up) and the fly tapes fill up quick but they work. Just make SURE tapes are NOT in jumping range of roosts or chickens will get taped! Good luck.

 

[mandelyn]

Hang Vanilla scented car freshners in the coop, and set up 2 more fly traps.

I have 4 fly traps, 3 are reusable, 1 is a disposable but the design is more effective. They come in through the bottom, to leave they go to the top, and can't get out. It's trapping way more than the other traps. We're looking into a way to make them from 2 liter bottles.

We reset them once a week. Dig a hole, dump the yucky contents, spray out, and reset. We don't buy the attractant, we add the water, a small handful of dog food, and 2 chicken poops. Gross but effective.

The traps work better when in the sun as opposed to shade. I have them outside of the run, to attract the flies out of the run. I never put the traps where the flies currently are.

I don't use the glue strips... they just don't trap as well as the liquid traps do.

The more... fragrant... the trap is, the better it works. Another reason I don't set them up near the run. I have them hung from decorative hangers you set in the ground, short style Shepherds hooks. Only it's a yucky fly trap instead of flowers in a basket. LOL

 

[lorain's fids]

Hang Vanilla scented car freshners in the coop, and set up 2 more fly traps.

I have 4 fly traps, 3 are reusable, 1 is a disposable but the design is more effective. They come in through the bottom, to leave they go to the top, and can't get out. It's trapping way more than the other traps. We're looking into a way to make them from 2 liter bottles.

We reset them once a week. Dig a hole, dump the yucky contents, spray out, and reset. We don't buy the attractant, we add the water, a small handful of dog food, and 2 chicken poops. Gross but effective.

The traps work better when in the sun as opposed to shade. I have them outside of the run, to attract the flies out of the run. I never put the traps where the flies currently are.

I don't use the glue strips... they just don't trap as well as the liquid traps do.

The more... fragrant... the trap is, the better it works. Another reason I don't set them up near the run. I have them hung from decorative hangers you set in the ground, short style Shepherds hooks. Only it's a yucky fly trap instead of flowers in a basket. LOL

Reuseable fly traps would be great and very cost efficient. What is the name of the reusable ones you use? The kind I have is Rescue, they go in through the top. I do have it hanging from a low shepherds hook which put it more on the flys level.
It's to bad flys didn't serve a GOOD purpose. We'd all be set then! LOL!

 

[therapydoglady]

go online and look up Fly Predators. I get mine from Spalding Labs. They work wonderfully well. It is a small fly itself, but they feed on the larvae of other flies. When there are no more flies, they die off. I have 6 horses, 2 goats, 45 chickens, (free range in the horse arena),8 geese, several cats and a Great Pyranese guard dog out there, and the fly predators keep our flies down to a minimum. It's so dry out here (West Texas) I just keep gold fish in my horse troughs. They are the only standing water out there. The goose pond has a fountain spraying all the time, so the turbulence prevents the mosquitoes from laying in it.

 

[mandelyn]

The fly predators don't do a thing for mature flies, they reduce the population by eating the larvae. They work really well if you get started before the flies do. Once you have a bunch flying around, they won't do a whole lot until the next generation of flies is in the making.

They didn't do anything for me.. it was then I remembered the 2 horse farms within a couple miles of me, no matter which way the wind is blowing, the flies find us. Last year I called all out war on flies. ALL poop went into sealed garbage containers. Compost was restructured to be sure is was too hot for fly breeding. Every spot in the yard checked for potential breeding sites. Dog poo, chicken poo... picked up twice a day. Still, flies. Everywhere. 3 batches of fly predators. Turns out, the flies are visiting, they're not breeding here. So we trap. A lot. Maybe they come from the neighbors who don't pick up their dog poo. Maybe it's the horse farms. We were expecting the same issue this year, but it hasn't been too bad. A lot less rain (flies breed like crazy in damp), a lot more traps, and we started the traps in March.

The reusable fly trap is by Rescue, model FTR - DT12. It has a screw top lid with 4 holes.

 

[lorain's fids]

go online and look up Fly Predators. I get mine from Spalding Labs. They work wonderfully well. It is a small fly itself, but they feed on the larvae of other flies. When there are no more flies, they die off. I have 6 horses, 2 goats, 45 chickens, (free range in the horse arena),8 geese, several cats and a Great Pyranese guard dog out there, and the fly predators keep our flies down to a minimum. It's so dry out here (West Texas) I just keep gold fish in my horse troughs. They are the only standing water out there. The goose pond has a fountain spraying all the time, so the turbulence prevents the mosquitoes from laying in it.

I did look up the Fly Predators- interesting, but they really wouldn't work well in my yard.
I think I'll be using the Rescue. It seems to be working so far. But the only thing with that is that I think it is attracting flys from my whole neighborhood into my yard-there is actually a waiting line to get into the trap. LOL!!

 

[therapydoglady]

Your thinking that the fly traps are attracting flies is correct. They (flies) can smell them a long time before you can. However, they are highly effective. I have them inside the barn, but not where my fly predator larvae are spread each month..(.they have to be "cultivated" too). Moist ground, etc., and I have to put them in a place that the chickens can't get to...chickens will eat them! I have been very satisfied w/ the fly predators/ trap combination. With all the animals I have, I have to attack the fly problem on several different fronts. I keep Golden Marin Fly bait in the milk house, simply because it's cleaner, and I can keep it up high, so when I hose the milk house down morning and evening after milking the goats, I don't wash it away, I don't have to smell the traps, get sticky tape in my hair, and I don't have to swat at the predators! It is a constant battle, but the "three pronged" attack seems to keep the flies to a minimum.

I forgot to mention in an earlier post that I also encourage bats w/ bat houses (waaaay high on telephone/utility poles) and I have several martin houses that are all occupied as well, which helps keep down the mosquitos.

 

[TXchickmum]

I have seven chickens (3 large/4 bantam) and likewise scoop the coops/runs several times per day. I also allow the chickens free roam of the back lawn for 4 - 6 hours per day. -have noticed the very same issue with flies around the lawn and back patio areas. -hung two Rescue fly traps from hooks on the fence not too far from the coops (strategically hidden by a trailing Carolina Jessamine). These traps work wonderfully!!! As far as the lawn/patios go, I run the sprinkler each morning and take a hose/spray nozzle at dusk and spray down areas where the chickens have produced "gifts" of fertilizer. This has helped eliminate the lawn flies a bit so that the family may enjoy the yard! As for the mosquitoes, I have several hanging candle lanterns (trees/patio) with citronella candles. -helps somewhat.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I'm starting to notice a fly problem as well. This is a good thread, thank you for starting it.