Flies are a common nuisance among poultry owners, and chickens are notorious for attracting them to the garden. Different types of flies can potentially carry harmful diseases and cause problematic issues among the flock (and in the coop). Flies particularly prefer areas that are warm and moist. By following this article step-by-step, you can help reduce the population of flies in your coop and back garden for good.
Steps
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Remove the waste. Let's face it, flies are attracted to chicken poo. If the poo build up is really bad then you may want to clean up more regularly. Faeces in the garden can simply be hosed down.
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Train the chickens to roost. Roosting is actually one way for the chickens to reduce mess and make clean up easier. If you haven't done so already, install roosting poles. Chickens that tend to the nesting boxes and floor at night should be shooed to the roosting poles when you secure the coop.
- You can roost train chickens by closing the nesting boxes at night, or encouraging them to roost by placing them on the roosting poles when they are asleep.
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Use absorbent bedding. Wood shavings usually do the trick whilst hay, straw and newspaper isn't as effective. Although sand isn't the most recommended or absorbent bedding, it actually helps to dry the poo out. Opt for this option if you can.
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Clean up leftover food. Dry chicken mix doesn't have to be cleaned up to reduce flies but other sweet treats do such as fruits. Flies are attracted to sweet fruits such as watermelon, strawberries and apple. After the chickens are finished with their food, clean it up.
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Adjust the coop. Flies are attracted to moist, warm areas. Low ventilation, leakage from the roof and spills from the drinker will help cause the perfect living space for flies. Do your best to avoid this by making a few adjustments:
- Make sure the coop has high ventilation. Ventilation is the air flow so that the coop doesn't get too humid or stuffy. If the weather gets really hot you can install a fan or cut in some windows which draws in some light too.
- Fix any leaks hidden in the roof. You can tell when the roof leaks after a rainy day and the coop has some wet spots or it's drenched. Any leaks could be due to holes in the roof so give it a good inspection. Another reason could be if you have shingles and they haven't been laid out properly - you can get a handy man to come over and fix this or fix it yourself.
- Reduce spillage from the drinkers. You can do this by hanging them above the ground or making the bar around the edges bigger so that the water doesn't spill over.
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Avoid using manure and composting chicken litter. Flies are attracted to these odors. If you really don't need the composting system or extra fertiliser; don't use it.
- Another option is to move the composting system as far away from the coop as possible. That means there will be less flies around the coop but they may relocate to where the compost bin is.
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Grow carnivorous plants. These plants feast on flies. It might not be the most effective solution but they do catch flies now and then. They also grow very big and can be bought at your gardening store. It's worth a shot.
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Add a herb bedding mix to the coop. Online chicken stores do make and deliver a herb mix suited for chickens. You simply add this mix to the nesting boxes and bedding and it repels the flies.
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Set up fly traps. Fly traps may have a nasty oder and aren't great to look at beside the coop but they do work. They help attract flies and then kill them for good. If you don't mind spending a bit of money, head to your local warehouse store.Advertisement
Community Q&A
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QuestionAre there any humane ways to keep away flies? I've heard other animals can get caught.Community AnswerAs long as the fly trap you use isn't too big, only flies and similar bugs will get caught. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the traps being inhumane. Flies don't even have a central nervous system.
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