House flies

Marie2020

Garden Addicted
Joined
May 21, 2020
Messages
2,641
Reaction score
5,123
Points
215
no, the problem isn't of needing poisons to control the flies, the problem is running any herd of animals in a confined space without rotating the space so that the crap coming out of the backend of the animals isn't causing too many flies to be hatched out after the animals have passed by.

in some places people have taken to using chickens to go in after the herd has mob grazed so that the chickens will pull apart the animal poop to get at the fly grubs.
I have to say, both you and @ducks4you have good heads on your shoulders. I'm actually learning here :)
 

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
15,878
Reaction score
23,771
Points
417
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
@flowerbug , so then how do you get rid of the flies that are attracted to the chicken poo?

if you rotate the cows and put the chickens in, then you rotate the chickens too and the rain takes care of that...

i forgot to mention that some areas are really lucky in that they have dung beetles which will clean up poo piles too.
 

bobm

Garden Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
3,736
Reaction score
2,506
Points
307
Location
SW Washington
if you rotate the cows and put the chickens in, then you rotate the chickens too and the rain takes care of that...

i forgot to mention that some areas are really lucky in that they have dung beetles which will clean up poo piles too.
My next door neighbors own over 200 beef cows plus their calves on 1,000 acres of land. When the cows rotate near our 20 acres, they deposit quite a bit of manure with maggets galore. Your idea of chickens doing their job of scattering the cow manure for the larvae just is not practical as we have dozens of coyotes, red tailed hawks, as well as a number of bald eagles who tend to enjoy chicken for lunch. The land is grassland with centuries old Valley oaks from 50' - 100 yards apart... perfect nesting sights for these predators. Oh, by the way, when people dump their unwanted dogs and cats out to the country when they move... their lifespan is 3 days due to coyotes having them for lunch.
 

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
15,878
Reaction score
23,771
Points
417
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
carpenter ants here are always trying to find a new home. this house was not sealed up correctly and is a constant pain in the butt.

as a reminder do not let someone just do something because they want to. i wish i'd argued a lot more to get it done right...

we have a lot fewer bugs in the house now that i found out how they were using the gaps around the heating ducts to come in. once i caulked those gaps we've cut down on about 99% of the bugs. it really used to get bad in here with either the box-elder bugs or the asian lady beetles and the squash bugs. now we see a few ants once a in while and a few of the others but nothing like before. i used to have to take the vaccuum every day and suck up hundreds of bugs at times when they would be swarming. now they still swarm some, but they all stay outside where they belong...

but for the fun i have to go around once a year and add more caulk at the gaps that keep opening up.
 

Marie2020

Garden Addicted
Joined
May 21, 2020
Messages
2,641
Reaction score
5,123
Points
215
I had a very determined fly fir e his/her way in my front door. Fir days I couldn't get rid of the pest it teased the life out of me. So set a trap to catch it along with the other pests arriving with my fruit and veg and those that appeared anyway. Then moved the trap after days of frustration and got at last. :yayesss I did it. I think it's been crossed with a Jackie long legs just look at it. Just call me the fly hunter :)
20200828_172859.jpg
 

Latest posts

Top