Help our wonderful delightful hens or possibly our compost barrels are attracting tons of flies , we have two traps up that catch the flies in bags but there are still loads of flies! Ideas?
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Our muscovy mama we got from Rachel is eating flies. Looking good too Rachel. Her feathers are whiter. The pen is over the crop of calendula, which we have pulled plants out of, to give her and babies a tunnel sort of, to get in to the patch and huddle if they want.
we have flies galore, since we got the straw. TONS of flies. Have a stinky plastic jar of stuff hanging up. but they came with the straw, not the ducks.
Muscovy ducks. ;) Even with the ducks eating tons of flies I still have them. You can use the D.E. liberally if you want, it will help. You will always have some flies as there is fresh poop out there constantly, but having a substrate like the pine shavings, straw, loose earth etc will really help. The fly problem is much worse in wet/damp areas. I know sometimes people use those stinky bag traps around horses, they seem to work really well, much better than fly paper.
You are right! Those stinky fly traps do work. I'll bet I had a thousand flies in one the other day. The problem is they REALLY stink! The D.E. does seem to cut down on the bug population by covering up the fresh droppings. How often should the substrate be changed? Can I change everything once a week? Can the D.E. go into the compost? I have so many questions...I should attend your class...again =0)
I just can't believe I fell in love with a bunch of chickens...non-owners love to chat me up...If I could just inspire one more person to take the plunge. I had no idea how many metaphors were born from chickens...you just can't understand it until you live with them and hear yourself using one..like "pecking order" or 'flew the coop".
No problem, it's amazing how addicting chickens can be, now just wait until you discover the wonders of ducks and quail!! ;) D.E. can definitely go in the compost. Changing all of the substrate once a week seems a bit much, but I guess it would depend on how many birds you had and in what size of an area. I put the poop/straw underneath their roosting bar into the compost at least twice a week this time of year, but I don't do anything with the rest of the chicken pen. I do use some D.E. from time to time.
Hi chicken lovers,
I am also a new owner of 4 chicks, 2 laying hens and 1 polish bantam within the last 3 weeks and have LOADs of flies! I know the composter is attracting them but with the new chicken run up this past weekend, I can see the flies are now moving over to the fresh digs. We have two fly traps out and several fly paper strips and though they are all loaded, there always seems to be more and MORE flies...We bought a 50 lb bag of food grade diatomaceous earth and I'm going to spread some of that around tonight but don't know how much or where to put it. I searched this site but couldn't find any prior posts. Sounds like you can use it on everything as long as it stays dry, even the food!
Are there other fly remedies out there?
I love reading everyone's discussions,
Susan
I started getting lots of flies as the weather heated up, I've only had my hens since Oct., so I started to worry that if it's this bad now, imagine when it's 100 degrees everyday???? They were just walking around on dirt in the coop, so my husband bought pine shavings and put that down and boy did it make a HUGE difference. The flies are barely noticeable, the smell is definitely better and the hens love to kick it up and look for stuff to munch on. We put it in the next boxes as well.
Replies
we have flies galore, since we got the straw. TONS of flies. Have a stinky plastic jar of stuff hanging up. but they came with the straw, not the ducks.
I just can't believe I fell in love with a bunch of chickens...non-owners love to chat me up...If I could just inspire one more person to take the plunge. I had no idea how many metaphors were born from chickens...you just can't understand it until you live with them and hear yourself using one..like "pecking order" or 'flew the coop".
Thanks Rachel!
I need to get some straw.
I am also a new owner of 4 chicks, 2 laying hens and 1 polish bantam within the last 3 weeks and have LOADs of flies! I know the composter is attracting them but with the new chicken run up this past weekend, I can see the flies are now moving over to the fresh digs. We have two fly traps out and several fly paper strips and though they are all loaded, there always seems to be more and MORE flies...We bought a 50 lb bag of food grade diatomaceous earth and I'm going to spread some of that around tonight but don't know how much or where to put it. I searched this site but couldn't find any prior posts. Sounds like you can use it on everything as long as it stays dry, even the food!
Are there other fly remedies out there?
I love reading everyone's discussions,
Susan