“Keep your mouth shut…”
That used to be my routine bit of advice for anyone entering my chicken coop during the summer months.
Fly control in the chicken coop used to feel like a losing battle for me, and the results were… gross. The cloud of black, buzzing flies used to be so thick when you’d open the door, you almost needed a welding helmet to keep them out of your eyes and mouth.
If you think I’ve been talking about bugs a lot lately, it’s because, well, I’m a little obsessed with natural fly control strategies… When you have big piles of future compost (aka manure…) sitting behind your barn, it tends to attract a lot of flies, which end up in your house, in your barn, in your food, in your homemade lemonade… You get the picture.
Unless you want to blast your homestead with massive amounts of pesticides (and I don’t), I have yet to find a one-size-fits-all cure for dealing with summer bugs on the homestead. However, taking a multi-faceted approach has been very successful for me.
In fact, I currently have fewer flies in my chicken coop than I do my house… For reals. If any of you have tips for getting Prairie Kids to keep the front door shut, let me know. But in the meantime, I’ll think you’ll like these strategies for natural fly control in the chicken coop—>
(this post contains affiliate links)
6 Strategies for Fly Control in the Chicken Coop
1. Fly Predators
Fight fire with fire. Or in this case, fight the annoying bugs with good bugs. I’m still a newbie to fly predators, but am hopeful thus far, especially considering the rave reviews I’ve heard from other homesteaders and horse/agricultural folks. I released my first fly predator shipment mid-May, and my second shipment came last week.
How do Fly Predators Work?
After you order, you’ll get a lovely little baggie of predator pupae (cocoon things) in the mail. Let the bag sit for a few days until the tiny predators begin to hatch, then deposit them in key spots (aka manure piles) around your barnyard. The adult predators feast on the pupa of the annoying flies, and you get a fly relief program that doesn’t require pesticides. One caveat: chickens like to eat the predator pupae, so try to deposit them in an area where your chickens don’t have easy access.
2. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is just handy to have around, period. DE is a fine powder made from the fossilized remains of algae, or diatoms. I use it in various applications around my barnyard, garden, and the coop as a natural pest deterrent. Some people also feed it to their livestock/chickens and claim it works from an internal aspect as well.
To use Diatomaceous Earth in the Chicken Coop:
Sprinkle DE in and around coop bedding or in areas where chickens take their dust baths. DE works from a mechanical aspect, not a chemical one, as it tends to dry out insects and make areas less hospitable for larvae.
The key with DE is not to expect it to be a ‘miracle fix’, but rather a component of a full fly-prevention program.
Diatomaceous Earth Cautions:
- Always be sure to purchase food-grade diatomaceous earth, not the stuff designed for pools.
- Wear a mask while sprinkling DE. It is a fine particulate that may cause lung irritation.
- Allow the dust to settle and the coop to ventilate a bit before allowing the chickens back in (to minimize the dust in the air they would be breathing).
Get the full scoop on diatomaceous earth and its many uses here.
3. Hang Water Bags
An old wives tale? Maybe. But considering it costs practically nothing to try, why not?
How to Do It:
- Fill a heavy-duty gallon-sized bag (Ziploc freezer bags would work) half-full with water
- Add 1-2 pennies.
- Hang by doorways and entrances to the coop.
Some people say this is dumb, while others swear by it. If you have a good water-baggie story, be sure to let me know in the comments!
4. Make Essential Oil or Herbal Sprays
Again, not a miracle fix. But a part of an overall fly program? You bet! There are many, many herbs and essential oils that bugs just plain don’t like, and mixing them into a spray is a great way to make your chicken coop even less appealing to our little buzzing friends. An added bonus: it makes your coop smell all happy.
A Few Essential Oils Bugs Hate:
Rosemary, basil, dill, peppermint, spearmint, lavender, thyme, geranium, lemongrass, citronella, lemon, wild orange, etc. (My favorite essential oils)
A Few Herbs Bugs Hate:
Rosemary, mint, basil, dill, lavender, thyme, bay leaves, tansy, etc.
Chicken Coop Fly Repellent Recipe
- 2 cups vinegar (how to make your own vinegar)
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract (how to make vanilla extract)
- 40 drops of essential oil (can be a single oil, or a combination of any of the oils listed above)
Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake well, and spritz generously in the coop wherever flies congregate. (For me, that’s around the main door. It has a window in it and always has the most flies around it– unless I keep it sprayed down, that is.)
Other ideas:;
- Hang bunches of fresh herbs in various places in the coop
- Place fresh herbs in nesting boxes. Not only do many herbs deter flies, but your chickens will love it.
- Mix dried herbs into your nesting box bedding.
- Plant an herb garden close to the coop. The challenge with this would be keeping the chickens out of the herbs, but that’s a post for another day…
NOTE: This tip won’t work well unless you utilize Tip #5, which is—->
5. Keep it Clean
Sounds obvious, right? But man, it’s effective (and doesn’t cost you a cent)! Flies like stinky, smelly, sticky, sweet things. Therefore, one of the best ways to discourage flies from congregating is to remove aforementioned stinky, smelly, sticky, or sweet things.
For me, this means cleaning out and freshening the coop more frequently to remove areas of wet manure (a fly’s #1 favorite substance). The main offending areas are underneath roosts and perches. Some folks place a board under those areas, so they can easily carry the board outside to scrape it off. I personally just make it a point to clean the bedding under the roosts more frequently, or remove the big piles.
I also add fresh bedding frequently (to reduce the smell), turn over existing dry bedding, and sprinkle on my diatomaceous earth in the process.
Also, while I love to feed my chickens scraps, the food residue can be a huge fly attractant in the hot summer months. Therefore, I always put the scraps outside in the summer, NEVER inside the coop, and I try to rake up any leftovers. Otherwise, you’ll end up with crazy fly swarms.
6. Fly Traps & Fly Strips
Can we all just take a moment to recognize the humble fly strip? Lowly though it may be, it offers immediate results (yes, I have fly strips hanging in my kitchen…), and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
While you can certainly use fly strips in your coop,depending on how many flies you have, you might find yourself replacing fly strips quite frequently… If that’s the case, a better option is a fly trap.
You can purchase fly traps (and accompanying attractants/bait) from Amazon or your local feed store, OR make your own homemade fly trap from an old plastic bottle instead.
I love your newsletter and posts!
You said “tips for getting Prairie Kids to keep the front door shut”
My grandmother paid us $.01 a fly for all we delivered dead. She provided fly swatters and a piece of cardboard to use to pick up the dead flies, and a coke bottle to store them in.
We still let in flies but rapidly converted them to pennies!
Also, a self closing screen door with a slam prevent-er helped too.
Bob, I love this idea! What an ingenious grandma you have. And she kept the kids busy and entertained in the process. Thanks!
I love it! And yes, I really, really need a screen door with a self-closing dealie. 🙂
I use the fly jars from TSC, but put beer in instead of the pesticide they come with. The flies fall in the beer. When it’s getting full, I dump it in the run and the chickens feast!
Is there anything special about the beer, or will any liquid work to drown them?
They die happy.
Beer works? Good to know, always have plenty around the homestead. I’ll give it a try. Any advice about this event nasty WAsPS?
For yellow jackets, take a small plastic water bottle. Cut the top off just where it starts to slope toward the mouth of the bottle. Put 2 inches or so of red wine in the bottle, invert the cut off top and place it in the bottle with the mouth facing down. Tape the two pieces together, then use a hole punch to put two holes on opposite sides of the top of the trap so that you can tie on a handle. Hang the trap where you see yellow jacket activity. The pests are attracted to the wine, and enter the trap but can’t get back out. Nice thing is, honey bees are not attracted by the wine, so you won’t be impacting their numbers.
This is the most helpful & entertaining place I have read in a very long time! Thank you so much! I am curious to know if you have any suggestions to get rid of/keep away the over the top annoying, sometimes painful, seem to be everywhere I am, sweat bees. Every “remedy” I have tried has failed. They are on me even when I’m NOT sweating!
What is THC….a place to purchase jars…. what kind of jar is a fly jar?
TSC = Tractor Supply Co.
THC something completely different and probably doesn’t get shared with chickens very often! :’))
My Father made us slowly open and close the back door 100 times every time we got caught leaving the door open or slamming the door shut. It works and works FAST lol
My mother did the same thing. Cured us quickly. Best to do in the winter months when there are no flys. We totally stopped slamming doors or leaving them open.
Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with Ron; Peggy. Unless my chickens start gives me silver eggs, ( yes, I’m settling for silver, no undo stress on my chickens and I’m not greedy ), I get silver eggs, they can have THC
I pay my kids to kill fly’s too! Then they feed the dead flys to the chickens?. I have always wondered why chickens don’t go for flys??
Fly strips are nasty and smelly. They are ugly and seeing dead flies makes me want to vommit, no thanks
Hi Jill,
Just want to thank you for your amazing information and products that are natural and effective! I bought your book, and read it in one sitting because I love your approach and ideas.
My husband and I recently built a very secure pen and coop and adopted 8 chicks. (Oh no, we think one is a rooster – help!) I have been feeding and treating them organically, (and soy-free) and they are super-healthy! I have used all of your recipes, including the one for coop spray. We have baked and chopped organic egg-shells, used your coop-spray recipes, and have treated our vegetable plants with your natural insecticide/fungicide, and the magnesium spray fertilizer. We are a mini-homesteading operation, and I have you to thank for the inspiration and great information.
Please continue to do all you do for those of us out here who want healthier options. Gd bless you and your beautiful family, including those beautiful animals!
And in the future if you can post anything about dealing with a rooster and hens, and future egg production, please advise…do we need to candle the eggs when they come etc??? I don’t want the boy to wind up in a pot as dinner, so I am trying to pay special attention to him to make him friendly…will this even help?
Thanks so much –
Sincerely,
Ellen
Hey Ellen, I am so happy you have been gleaning some helpful tips from the blog. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Those are great future post ideas, I am definitely jotting them down. As far as the rooster goes, I haven’t had much luck trying to keep mean birds nice… I’ve tried spending extra time with our geese/roosters as babies to see if it helps them stay nicer down the road, but haven’t seen much of a change. I think it has more to do with the type of bird/temperament than anything.
Often, if you pay attention, you can spot an aggressive rooster even as a teenager, (three to four month old). They will be the ones that run toward you with chest puffed up or herd the others away from you and then come toward you. I know this sounds mean to some but I put roosters in the crock pot at the first inkling of aggression. I try to prevent it by scaring the absolute crap out of them when they are about that age. I chase them with sticks, I pick them up when it’s dark and take them off their roost, I hose them down if they get near me. I don’t want a friendly rooster. I want one that is scared of humans but protective of the flock. It just takes some trial and error to see what works and what you are comfortable doing. Good thing is that no one needs a rooster for happy, healthy hens.
I died laughing at all the stuff Rebecca does to her roosters, what a nightmare, I bet your roosters have P.T.S.D. by now! I am laughing so hard right now I am crying. This remindes me of the movie Lonesome Dove. With.tjat lady Peach when her rooster ? pecked her, she rung his neck and say s, there that will teach him to peck me, now let’s see how you like the cook pot. This is a great blog, I have had so much fun reading the posts. Thank you everyone.
ellen-
i found this helpful. not 100%, but worth trying next time you need to: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/raising-roosters-to-be-family-friendly
I had a very baaad rooster that I raised with my hens. At first he was my best friend, then just before he turned 2 he turnedHe spurred me in the lower leg so bad, it took almost a year to heal! I got rid of him and he went to a person with no hens, no other birds at all. He was happy going around eating bugs and such and would actually sit beside his new owner and allow her to pet him. It is thought that this humbled the hen and was introduced to new hens about a month later and was a very good rooster. I have no idea how that really happened. I tried everything with him and it bothered me a lot to give him up. I now have a mixed breed rooster that was given to me and he is such a ham bone and extremely nice! He shows the hens food, stops them from squabbling, screams when there is danger and won’t eat until the hens do! I can even pick him up! No he’s not a Wyondotte like my hens (and previous roo), but who rcares!
Good roosters are awesome!
I got a rooster with my chicks this spring, a Buff Orphington, he is a beautiful golden color. I love wathcing him care for his hens, but have to warn friends to not get between hin and the hens. He warns them of any predator, human, animal or bird and will attack anythng within size. He keeps them in line, ie: in the yard, cackles when any go outside the fence, calls them to food finds, and breaks up any fights between the girls. Yes the eggs are fertile but most people would not recognize the little white sqiggle. In other words he is here for good, just remember you may have to convince him that he cannot attack anyone in your family or your pets, but that only takes a couple of weeks.
I had a rooster that was “overly affectionate” to the degree that my chickens were almost devoid of feathers…..I didn’t want to turn him out for coyote’s to kill or have him die of thirst or lack of food so I shot him…..not happy about it but it was necessary for the survival of my hens.
LKJJ- I had a mean rooster and I just couldn’t kill so I took him to a local family farm and ranch store and they paid me $4 for him. They said that another farmer would come and get him. Easier for me to get rid of an aggressive rooster. He was the best protector of his hens though.
Regarding the flies in the house, we found a solution that works amazingly at our house. We live in fly valley in PA. We’ve had the Ag dept. come out and give all kinds of advice and solutions, but to no avail as most of the solutions weren’t safe with pets around. We bought one of those magnetic screens that attach to the door frame and open up when you walk through and close automatically with a magnetic strip in the center. It has cut down on the fly population in our home by 75% at least. Best. Purchase. Ever.
I’ve always bypassed those magnetic fly-screen curtain things – till this summer. I was just SO fed up with flies and bees and wasps in the house. So I bought one… like you Cheryl: best. Purchase. Ever. Maybe not the most robust item I ever bought, but hey.
I saw that vanilla scented car air fresheners (the a Christmas tree shaped ones) would repel flies. I bought a dozen off Amazon (about a buck apiece). I put 4 out in a perimeter around the coop (out of reach for the chickens) and the number of flies was reduced dramatically almost overnight. Best hint ever.
Hi Jill!
I just found you about a month ago-thank you for all the helpful information!
I just had to comment on the water bag for flys, for us it works! We hang them on the front and back patio near the doors and it has really cut down on how many we have in the house. With horses ourselves, and neighbors with horses on one side and cows on the other we were infested with them!
As for getting kids to stop opening and shutting the door-if you figure that one out, let me know! We do have the spring closing things on, but the doors still open 100 times a day!
Oh!!!! the scraps outside the coop is genius….especially since we let the chickens free range all day (grasshopper patrol) and they don’t clean up the whole scrap mess too well so the dog and neighbors cat like to go in and check it out, and I.hate.CATS!!!!!
On another front, this spring, I got potted herbs by all the doors to our house and it has dramatically reduced bugs period in our home this year.
Yeah… my scraps attract the attention of the dogs, too. Kinda a pain!
Cats keep the rats you’d attract away
Hi Jill,
The water in the zip lock bags works. I have them baking at each entrance of the house and the coop. I also use DE, which also helps with the smell.
When cleaning, I spray citrus vinegar throughout.
I love your blog and all of your great, helpful tips!!
As a “city girl”, I tried hanging the ziplock bag with pennies inside my covered patio without success – DUH. It needs sunlight to create the effect that the pests fear. Let me know if I’m wrong. My only regret in life, not growing up a country girl.
Hmmm… yeah, I’m thinking the sunlight would help it. 🙂
I’m so curious about this! I just read yesterday about filling balloons half with water and half with air (he didn’t mention pennies). The water attracted the flies and the static on the balloon trapped them. Is this the same as what’s happening with the bag method?
Your posts bring back so many memories of my childhood on a farm – I really enjoy reading them. Only difference from your experience is that the farm I lived on didn’t have electricity or running water. We were VERY poor. Not much money, but great memories and all home-grown food!
I’m so happy my posts bring back happy memories for you Dolores. 🙂
Jill, I’ve heard that wiping/cleaning outside tables and chairs with PineSol helps keep flies away as they don’t like the smell. Perhaps a swipe of this around the doors and entryways into the coop can help. Hopefully, your ? won’t be bothered by the scent!
We tried the water bag trick last summer and it didn’t seem to work.
bummer!
You mentioned boards for clean up. I just lay my old feed bags on the top of our nesting boxes and pick them up when they get gross.
I love the feed bag idea– even better than boards!
I also lay a used chicken bag (inside of bag facing up) on top of my nesting boxes. Our chickens favorite roost is above the boxes. I do scrape it clean from time to time, but when it gets too bad, or ripped i toss it and lay another one down!!!!
I have a “poop hammock” that is made out of the dog food bag taped in a hammock shape under the roost where the girls sleep. It gets pretty filled but at least most of the poop lands there. I am going to try the smelly herb spray and the pennies right now. Thank you!
I found it very helpful to attach a slanted board over the top of our nesting boxes this way when the hens try to roost,they just slide right off. 😉
I never had any real problems with mine. I just let the chickens free range during the day and cooped them at night. Keep it cleaned out. Spread your manure outside so the chickens will eat the flies that land on it. I miss keeping chickens for bug control, but we had a very high population of hawks and owls who eventually killed all our fowl one by one.
Love diatomaceous earth! I rubbed it into my goats’ and chickens’ fur/feathers all the time – I never had a problem with mites or lice! 🙂 And sprinkled it (aLOT) in the coop and the goat pen (and nesting boxes) to keep the pens dry, smelling decent and deter flies. It worked SO WELL! I do have a negative to share about it though, and wish it weren’t so, but… one of the reasons I kept goats and chickens is to use their bedding for fertilizer. But guess what!? I noticed that weeds would not grow in the pile of animal bedding in the corner of the garden! I’m thinking that the little soil critters can’t live in the presence of all that dt and that I made the soil kind of sterile! Bummer!
Uh-oh… that’s not good… a lot of folks use DE in their gardens with great success, so I’m wondering if it was just b/c of the large amount?
Jill, so are you saying gardeners use DE to deter/kill weeds? Like your blog! Like your homesteading life that you relate to us! My husband and I live on a mountain the Lord gave us. We use a loader and excavator to create “benches” for vegetable gardens and orchards: a sort of terraced effect.
No– DE doesn’t work for weeds– it can work against some types of insect pests, though. Just use it carefully as it harms beneficial insects, too
I know this was posted a few years ago, but I will say I found out the hard way that DE kills earthworms very quickly. Also, I used to work in a farm supply store and the sales reps for the company that sold DE said to never put it on or in your animals and don’t put it into your house. I figured they knew more than I did, so I’ve always followed their advice.
Debbie
I accidentally sprinkled some DE on my pepper plants and noticed the leave dried up by the next day. I was told by a vendor that its like dust particles of glass and kills the insects by shredding their insides, I was also told that it works by dehydrating the insects. I imagine both reasons would make me careful not to feed it to my flock or rub it on them, not to mention inhale it. I imagine what it would do to the soft tissue of my lungs:-)
I was told that DE cut the outside of the small insects and once there’s a cut in the carapace, the water in them can evaporate through the cut. Thus, dehydration. It probably cuts the insides too if they ingest it. Pinworms went through my community and I took DE (don’t remember the amounts now, but found them on the internet.) It worked well. I understand you can give it to horses so that their manure already has the DE mixed in with it to kill the fly larvae.
I’m concerned about my garden buts and worms, though! I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the chicken bedding now. Some was going to go to my composting worms after it had aged a long time. I suppose I’ll test it out on a small number first.
DE only kills animals with Exoskeletons. if your skeleton is under your skin and stuff, you’re good.
I use all these except the water bag and don’t have too many flies in the chicken coop. But I would really appreciate tips on dealing with flies on cows! My poor girl is covered!
I have a homemade fly spray recipe here on the blog! 🙂
You will like how well predators work. We’ve used them for years…April thru Oct is our season. In fact, our newest batch arrived today.
I’m really excited about them– glad to hear they’ve been successful for you!
I have a water baggie story for you. My cousins went down to Jamaica and in a bunch of restaurants were they are open to the outside elements all the time there were bags hanging mostly by the kitchens or bars. My cousin finally asked at one place and a waitress explained how they keep the flies away. It’s because the reflection from the penny in the water the flies think they are spider webs or something of the sort and so they stay away. We tried it last year around the house doors where we don’t want to hang giant fly bag traps and it totally worked we have yet to have the swarm of flies by our door like we had for so many years prior.
That is so cool! And glad to know it’s working for you!
Hi,
Have you thought about getting a few muscovies? They are the best fly eating ducks ever. Pig farmers keep them in and around their barns. They eat thousands of flies. They are easy to have around . Not aggressive, and they are delicious! Dark meat ,little fat, easy to process!
Check them out, you be glad you did. Natural fly control..
I learned this tip from a permaculture teacher a few years ago and it works soooo well. When Christmas comes around, ask a few friends for their old christmas trees, chop up the pine tree and lay the branches in your coop. The acidity from the pine balances out the baseness of the manure.
I really like that idea!
The pennies worked for our house.
We now use fly predators, they work!
I don’t use DE around any area I have the fly predators because I read that it will kill the predator larvae as well as the fly larvae. I’m not sure this is correct. I can say I have no flies in the chicken house after just a couple of months of using the predators but it’s taking longer to notice a difference with the cows and turkeys.
I’m going to put strips in the turkey house today to see if that helps until the predators have a chance to breed will enough to make a difference. I don’t think I put enough in there to begin with but boy do turkeys poop!!! We probably won’t do them again unless they are just so delicious we have to.
Predator wasps don’t kill adults, they lay eggs in fly larvae and they don’t grow up. So have to get rid of adult flys some other way.
I have been following your website for a while now and have not written yet. I don’t have a computer at home so if you could let me know your reply, I will definitely check it on Monday morning. I have 12 chickens and have noticed the flies and gnats starting already. It has really been raining a lot here in Western New York and the mud is terrible. I have a lot of mint growing. My question is if I put the mint (clumps of leaves) around the inside of the coop (my chickens have a fenced area (not free range) but the area is about 40′ x 40′ for 12 chickens (soon to be 9 when the roosters go)..sorry I tend to rant. If I put the mint leaves around the inside of the coop, will the chickens eat the mint and if so, will it hurt them or make the eggs taste weird? Thanks for your time.
Hi Deb,
The mint shouldn’t hurt the chickens at all. I don’t imagine they’ll eat much of it, but even if they do, it’s just fine. 🙂
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it. Enjoy your day. I enjoy reading your blog, it keeps me inspired.
Mint will NOT hurt chickens. I feed it to mine.
Here are fly feeders designed to offer chicken and other birds a fun meal of both chickens and grubs that crawl out of the bucket. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z2ZuF0XZQw
The chickens catch the flies right off the side of the buckets . . .
Thanks, BJ, for directing folks to Justin Rhodes’ YouTube daily vlog! It is a winner, and they’ll be visiting Jill on their year long ‘Great American Farm Tour’ !
Hi Jill,
Thanks for this blog entry (and your whole blog, actually). I haven’t gotten any chickens yet, but I’m reading everything I can about them so that I will be prepared whenever I do get them.
About the pennies in water bags….
Back when I was keeping tropical fish, one of the old-time treatments for certain diseases in the fish was to add a few pennies to the water. (It was cheaper than buying malachite green.) I found out later that this only works with OLD pennies, which are made totally of copper. Nearly all of the pennies in today are zinc, coated with copper. (That’s why you don’t find recognizable pennies at the beach anymore. The salt and water destroy the zinc pennies, so if you’re lucky, you find something disk-shaped, but no longer usable as legal US tender.)
Long story short, the pennies in water method might work better if you drop something made entirely of copper into the water.
Great info, Jennifer. That’s why I like ‘specialists’ … they know what us ‘generalists’ don’t : )
Fascinating! I didn’t know that!
I have a country home that we use during the summer on weekends. We have several windows that have millions of flies and Japanese beetles. How do you get rid of them? Please help!!
Hi Jill,
Love your blog and learn so many things and love reading replies back from all the readers.
Years back a cow had died in the neighbors pasture. Before they could carry him off the flies got so bad we used the water in the bag method with the pennies on each door to the house and it worked. We also have an open dog feeder and the flies hung around it in the summer months and the penny water bag was great. The flies quit coming. My sister lives by a dairy and uses the same method on her doors also. She was a non believer before.
On another note on the FOOD GRADE D.E., we always sprinkle it on our pets, and their bedding, and it works great. Keep it away from eye area but the powder is like little razors to the fleas or ticks or critters that crawl through it. A little dusting powder puff works great to powder the pets with too. Just love your site. Thanks, Mary
The first and foremost method for keeping flies down in the chicken coop is the deep litter method. All other methods are a waste of time.
We have really smart flies here in Idaho that wait for you to open the screen door and let them in! I am convinced of this:)
I am not a good cook…had a guy at work tell me “Did the flies get together to buy you a screen door?”…just my two cents.
Really like your sight…hope the remodel goes well.
Saw the title and I was going to say get the predator wasps. We were overwhelmed with flies, inside and out (my mother in law wouldn’t close door) thought I’d go insane. Used several types of traps and nasty strips everywhere, we used spray as well. Heard about the predators and figured can’t hurt. They have worked great! Don’t wait until you see a lot of little guys in bag, few is enough. Better in spots that don’t get standing water. If real cool wait a bit. Try to get them started before flies do, one year warm way early and we were behind. All our critters approve of using them for sure. Now if they would get them for the evil deer flies (their bites are awful).
We buy the fly traps. We buy a can of beer, pour it in and in no time they are full to the rim with flies.
You mentioned tansy as an herb that repels flies. Have you tried this and what was your experiences? I was all excited after i first learned about tansy last fall but with more research learned that it can be toxic to livestock and is considered invasive. So now I am nervous to grow or use it
I read that vanilla-scented “trees” (the kind you hang on your rear-view mirror to make the car smell good) repel flies. It works for us, temporarily, but when the smell is gone the flies come back. So I spray them with a 50/50 solution of Pine Sol and water and voila–no flies will go near them. Cheaper than buying more air fresheners. I spray our screen door from the inside out to keep them away from the door.
A question: I thought DE lost its effectiveness when it got wet–so how will putting it in hen food help?
Using dry,construction-grade sand for coop bedding is easy to clean with a kitty litter scoop and works well to keep the coop smelling nice and flies away.
I use de in our vehicle’s coop, run, and yard. I’ve never had a mite problem, and usually have fewer flies. One warning: don’t just ignore the recommendation to use a mask when distributing! Two years ago I was spreading de out in the coop when the wind blew and gusted some in my face. I developed a terrible case of pneumonia and was out of commission for 2 weeks and then took an additional 2 weeks to fully get my strength back. This stuff is great….but not for lungs!
I use de in our chicken coop, run, and yard. I’ve never had a mite problem, and usually have fewer flies. One warning: don’t just ignore the recommendation to use a mask when distributing! Two years ago I was spreading de out in the coop when the wind blew and gusted some in my face. I developed a terrible case of pneumonia and was out of commission for 2 weeks and then took an additional 2 weeks to fully get my strength back. This stuff is great….but not for lungs!
YES! Evergreen needles, boughs or chopped Christmas trees repel flies. Cedar shavings, too, but be careful in case of skin (horses, especially) sensitivity. Home Depot is thrilled to have you pick up buckets of “chop shave” & boughs from tree lots.
The vanilla tree car freshener works for us! We used to have terrible fly problems in the hottest parts of the summer, but we heard about this and have no more swarms. We hang one by our chicken coop and one by the rabbits’ pen.
I found it very helpful to attach a slanted board over the top of our nesting boxes this way when the hens try to roost,they just slide right off. 😉
It has been many years since we had chickens. One year we had a particularly mean rooster. He hated my oldest son, who was about 5 at the time. Many times, son came into the house crying with bloody legs. I found an old badminton racket, took it and my son to the coop. When the rooster came after him, I smacked him in the butt with the racket, just hard enough to send him flying. Had to repeat it about 3 times; very stubborn rooster. But he then feared that racket! All my son had to do is show it to him and he ran out the door to the run!
I always use essential oils for my coop and also treating my chickens. Please make sure you buy your oils from a reputable company that sells pure 100% therapudic oils, The ones you buy in the stores are rotton trust me. I use Young Living and have been very happy with them for years give them a try you wont be disappointed- https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=16476644&enrollerid=16476644&isocountrycode=US&culture=en-US&type=member
I have had good luck with some lights that actually kill the flies. I found out that the lights made by bo-jofishlight.com work just as well in my coop as they do over a pond. Plus, my birds get to eat the dead (or at least disabled) bugs. It has been working really well for over a year now!
Thank you for the tips! I’m trying the multifaceted approach, per your advice.
I cut fresh sprigs of rosemary and hung them in the coop.
Also hung two ziplock bags of water.
All flys – GONE!
Going to plant rosemary bushes around the coop and run 🙂
Thank you!
Jill, Southern California
SO glad to hear the tips helped with your flies!!
Hi where did you get the fly trap pictured here ??? I can’t find this color or style anywhere.
As a horse person who has had limited success with making my own fly sprays, I thought I’d mention Bye Bye Insect Fly repellant from Spalding Labs. I get my fly predators from them and their all natural, essential oil based spray concentrate is the best chemical free one I’ve found. Also, have you tried PDZ coop freshener? I use the equine marketed one for pee spots in my barn and it works great and doesn’t have pesticides or harsh chemicals (to my knowledge). I think it might add extra oomph to odor control if mixed with the diatomaceous earth.
Liked reading about chickens ect.. Older now think of things I could of tryed… I hope younger ones will take heed. Try different things that work. Go natural at all times. Our world is wearing out like a rag, as written in the. Bible. It has changed so much in 80 years, I have lived and can see it in my life time… LLS from Michigan