barbedwiresmile
04-21-2012, 17:06
A warm winter couples with the lack of a late freeze means this is already a bad fly year. And it's going to get worse. Some of you may already be experiencing this. Flies are nasty, uncomfortable, and can put young livestock and especially rabbits at risk of flystrike.
Here's three tips for dealing with black fly problems in barns and in/around the house.
1. DIY fly spray. Fill a pot with water. Add two tablespoons each of peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, and sesame oil. Cover and bring to a boil. Let cool and fill up a spray bottle. This stuff will kill flies on contact. And you won't have to worry about getting chemicals in your house, barn, chicken coop, etc.
2. DIY fly traps. These are extremely cheap to make so you can put them all around your house, in your barn, etc. Cut a 2 liter soda bottle about two thirds to the top - right before where the bottle just starts to taper. Fill the bottom a third full of a sugar water mix. Put the top part upside down into the bottom part so you have a funnel facing down. There should be at least an inch between the spout of the bottle and the water level. Cut two holes through the top edge of the trap facing each other (the holes will be through both halves of the bottle). Take a coat hanger and squeeze each end together with a pair of pliers. Insert each end into the holes in the trap and bend up to keep them in place. Now use the hook of the coat hanger to hang it anywhere you have a fly problem. Alternatively, you can use chicken livers or bits of any meat instead of sugar water. If made right and placed strategically, these will fill up with flies quickly. Once full, just throw them away and replace. Or you can dump them out and refill.
3. If you keep chickens, let them free range all over - even around the house. They'll eat larva and bugs all day long. You'll notice a big difference, especially in the mosquito population.
Hope this helps. I know I've got a really bad fly problem this year, especially in the barns.
Here's three tips for dealing with black fly problems in barns and in/around the house.
1. DIY fly spray. Fill a pot with water. Add two tablespoons each of peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, and sesame oil. Cover and bring to a boil. Let cool and fill up a spray bottle. This stuff will kill flies on contact. And you won't have to worry about getting chemicals in your house, barn, chicken coop, etc.
2. DIY fly traps. These are extremely cheap to make so you can put them all around your house, in your barn, etc. Cut a 2 liter soda bottle about two thirds to the top - right before where the bottle just starts to taper. Fill the bottom a third full of a sugar water mix. Put the top part upside down into the bottom part so you have a funnel facing down. There should be at least an inch between the spout of the bottle and the water level. Cut two holes through the top edge of the trap facing each other (the holes will be through both halves of the bottle). Take a coat hanger and squeeze each end together with a pair of pliers. Insert each end into the holes in the trap and bend up to keep them in place. Now use the hook of the coat hanger to hang it anywhere you have a fly problem. Alternatively, you can use chicken livers or bits of any meat instead of sugar water. If made right and placed strategically, these will fill up with flies quickly. Once full, just throw them away and replace. Or you can dump them out and refill.
3. If you keep chickens, let them free range all over - even around the house. They'll eat larva and bugs all day long. You'll notice a big difference, especially in the mosquito population.
Hope this helps. I know I've got a really bad fly problem this year, especially in the barns.