# Fly control method?



## Valley Ranch (Jun 5, 2010)

What method [other than cleaning and picking up] do you find to works best to control flies? 

I've heard everythin from broadcasting wasps 
 to  Ziplock bag 1/2 full of water with pennies in it?
What works for you?


Richard


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## tommboy1973 (Jun 5, 2010)

I only have two horses so I feed Simplifly feed thru, I really noticed a reduction from last year when I didn't use it. And also hang a coupe of those fly traps. The only downside is they stink really bad. I have never heard of bag with pennies in it, have you ever tried it? How is it supposed to work?


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## Lil-patch-of-heaven (Jun 5, 2010)

I've used fly traps before. The only problem is that it DREW many flies. Rather than putting it where the flies are that I want to get rid of (my mistake) now I use them away from where the flies are, preferably upwind of the generally prevailing wind. 

I've had a lot of success with poultry too. Some chickens are good at controlling insects. We encouraged the ducks to eat insects and they were active hunters. The geese are not usually that interested once they grow up. I'm looking for guineas now as they are reputed to be even more effective and (more importantly to me at the moment) also supposed to cut down on snakes which are REALLY becoming a problem to our smaller livestock. 

In heavily infested areas I use sticky tape (flypaper ribbons) to immediately wipe out a few hundred. Placement is crucial -- IN the brooder near the floor (goslings removed) I caught hundreds in one day. Hanging from the doorway 4 feet away I caught maybe a dozen the first couple days before moving that one. 

Flies are a HUGE problem for us this year too so I'm interested to see other suggestions as well.


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## the funny farm6615 (Jun 5, 2010)

i use the half full bagies of water just inside all doors. they scare the flys by reflecting the light. since i put them up 3 years ago there havent been as many in the barn or garage. i also made nesting places for the barn swallows. i love to watch them swoop around and catch insects. we also have a bat house that we have bats in and they come out at dusk and continue where the swallows leave off. ( but maybe that is also why there are less flys in the barn)?


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## Valley Ranch (Jun 5, 2010)

thanks for all the ideas!!!
I am so glad someone has used the bags!! A cousin told us about them and my husband (who usually posts) was very sceptical!!

I have heard the theory is the baggies reflect like a big BUG eye and scare the flies off.

We'd love to get chickens but it snows here (feet of snow) so we are hesitant.


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## Lil-patch-of-heaven (Jun 6, 2010)

There are lots of folks who keep chickens in cold climates. Their bodies generate a LOT of heat, so with a draft-free and dry coop (maybe insulated as well) it can be do-able. You would probably want a heater for their water though, and will need more floor-space per bird than those further south. It's not as economical, but do-able.

If you ever go on the BYC board, I'm sure you can talk to lots offolks with situations very similar to yours who can give more specific advice.


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## freemotion (Jun 6, 2010)

Chickens will do just fine in your area.  You can use the deep litter method in your coop, which is a lot less work and the composting creates heat in the winter.  Get breeds that have very small rose or pea combs to avoid frostbite.  Make your coop draft-free, with hardware cloth covered windows with shutters for ventilation in the good weather.  In winter, add more litter like shavings when you smell ammonia in the coop.  This method works really well.  My father kept hens this way in Northern Maine, where the temps stay well below 0 F for a big chunk of the winter....like -30-40 F!

I actually use less floor space for my flock to keep them warmer.  I do open their pop door all day so they can get out every day.  In the worst weather, they will run along a path I shovel for them and spend the day in the goat's stall, then go back to the coop for the night.  They lay eggs for me all winter, too.

I used to use disposable fly traps and tape with pretty good success.  The traps, hung lower in the shade, attract the flies at their feeding level.  The tapes, hung high from the rafters, attract the flies that are looking to rest at their resting level.

I have not needed any other form of fly control since I got chickens.  I rarely see a fly.  To get this level of control, though, your hens need to have access to all areas....stalls, manure pile, wet areas around outdoor water troughs, any place where maggots will develop.  They will detect a maggot hatch and consume all the larvae before they develop into flies....it is amazing to see.

I got just three guineas, too, and now have no ticks, squash bugs, cucumber beetles, or sanity.


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## Valley Ranch (Jun 6, 2010)

this is great!!!

We have wanted chicken for a long time!! I'll look into that metohd you suggested.
What a bonus eggs to eat and no flies!!! Can't wait!!!


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## ducks4you (Jun 8, 2010)

BESIDES CLEANING UP AFTER MY HORSES,  
I use:
Spalding fly predators, along with LOTS of mowing, the usual stinky flytraps in strategic locations, brush and spray with Repel-X before a workout, and a hose bath AFTER a workout.
Even my neighbor noticed the lower fly population in 2009.


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## michickenwrangler (Jun 8, 2010)

One of my friends uses fly predators since the rednecks next to her with Angus cattle don't pick up after them or practice any fly control of their own, and she says that there is a difference.

I usually use fly spray with citronella oil, sometimes mix Avon's Skin-so-Soft in with it.

I used to ride at a stable that used those gallon sized fly traps and those things smell beyond bad. Fly strips are supposed to be the most eco-friendly way. Bug zappers are also entertaining.

Might want to get a bat-house to encourage bats. They eat a lot of bugs


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## miss_thenorth (Jun 8, 2010)

Can someone explain the ziploc baggie thing?  where would the best place be to place it?  At the entrance to the barn, or what.  I'm intrigued.


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## adoptedbyachicken (Jun 9, 2010)

I was told the zip lock bag with the penny in it (new shinny one) was a wasp deterrent and you put it anywhere you don't want them, like over your picknic table or deck.  Flies were not mentioned.  It has to be in good light to work so it must be a refraction thing.  I never tired it.  The fake wasp nests work great for me.

Poultry is my fly plan, and they take on grasshoppers too. Ducks, chickens and turkeys. However they don't work with Midges so I still have to spray my horses.  We have bats and swallows but I want to encourage more.

We get up to 12 feet of snow here and our birds do fine without heat other than their own.  They need to be able to get out of wind and damp.  They still wander outside even in the worst weather and peck about on the ploughed areas or join the horses when hay is fed, but stay indoors lots.


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## the funny farm6615 (Jun 9, 2010)

i put mine @ 2-3 feet inside the door, hung from a rafter just high enuff that it isnt in the way. i was told that you want them close enuff to the door to reflect the light well, and to keeep the flys from comeing in.

forgot to add that my neighbor uses old cds and dvds hung the same way. but the barn swallows wont go in then.


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## Valley Ranch (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks. Right now we are very active in cleaning up after the horses. We usually shovel out the corral 2-3 times a day. I am astounded by how much waste 5 LITTLE horses create!! 
I am going to try the baggies. I'd rather not use sprays because my girls are around there all the time. The traps/strips I've tried and the goats eat them!! And putting them up high seems to not work too well.
I like the idea of chickens. And if they can handle the snow and cold I think we are going to go that route. Especially since I have wanted chicken for ages!!! 
Maybe we can get miniature chickens since we have pygmy goats and mini horses it will complete the mini ranch!!!


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## freemotion (Jun 9, 2010)

If you have hawks, you may not be able to free-range bantams.  In my neighborhood, the hawks will take a small chicken but leave the full-size ones alone.....mostly.  We have a juvenile bald eagle that took a few of my layers, but thankfully, he's moved on.


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## michickenwrangler (Jun 9, 2010)

Valley Ranch said:
			
		

> Thanks. Right now we are very active in cleaning up after the horses. We usually shovel out the corral 2-3 times a day. I am astounded by how much waste 5 LITTLE horses create!!
> I am going to try the baggies. I'd rather not use sprays because my girls are around there all the time. The traps/strips I've tried and the goats eat them!! And putting them up high seems to not work too well.
> I like the idea of chickens. And if they can handle the snow and cold I think we are going to go that route. Especially since I have wanted chicken for ages!!!
> Maybe we can get miniature chickens since we have pygmy goats and mini horses it will complete the mini ranch!!!


They're called bantams   A couple of banty cochins or rocks would be awful cute running around with your other minis


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## dianneS (Jun 10, 2010)

I swear by Spalding fly predators and I have a lot of water around me, so the flies were bad, even when I only had two horses.  I've got chickens too.  They help a lot and they help with ticks as well.


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