Flies, very bad flies

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skysthelimit

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The flies are so bad here, they always have been. I've tried vanilla, in water, sprays (metered) and air freshener cones. I've got vinegar in the water, DE in the food, pinesol on the floors, pine shaving and lime in the litter tubs. I have fly paper, I sweep everyday. Empty the tubs often, no longer than a week. And still the flies are everywhere, not just the bunny barn. I have the fly traps as well. The last resort are the metered fly cans. I'd rather not have insecticide in the bunny barn, but I'd rather not have flies. Predators are expensive, but I'd do those before I'd let those flies continue to pester me and bite the dogs ears. Last year I had metered spray in the yard, away from the dogs, chickens and rabbits, but I need something for the bunny barn. Help!!!
 
Apply the DE to anywhere they can be laying eggs and feeding.

We had really, really bad flies in the house year round. I complained and complained about it but Greg kept saying, "This is a farm; farms have flies." My grandparents lived on a farm and we never had flies in the house in the winter. Never!

I finally figured it out.... His daughter had a giant flemish rabbit in a cage in the house. The flies were from her poop. Sadly, the rabbit died. She was gone and so were the flies.


I think you're going to have to move anything associated with poop and litter out of the barn entirely, clean out the poop twice a day and disinfect every time you clean out poop to get rid of all the flies and eggs. Then go to daily and see how that works.
 
ollitos":3f2ojiv0 said:
Apply the DE to anywhere they can be laying eggs and feeding.

We had really, really bad flies in the house year round. I complained and complained about it but Greg kept saying, "This is a farm; farms have flies." My grandparents lived on a farm and we never had flies in the house in the winter. Never!

I finally figured it out.... His daughter had a giant flemish rabbit in a cage in the house. The flies were from her poop. Sadly, the rabbit died. She was gone and so were the flies.


I think you're going to have to move anything associated with poop and litter out of the barn entirely, clean out the poop twice a day and disinfect every time you clean out poop to get rid of all the flies and eggs. Then go to daily and see how that works.

The pans are washed, rinsed in vinegar, powered with lime or DE (I tried each) pine shaving put in, once a week, then topped with DE or lime every other day, never left more than a week before completely emptied. There is DE in the food and lime in every corner. The population is smaller in the barn. But the entire house seems to be swarming in flies, even before the rabbits, when I had just two dogs. The front, the back, the yard, everywhere.

We were wondering if the fruit trees draw flies. I could always have them cut down.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:29 pm __________<br /><br />
MaggieJ":3f2ojiv0 said:
Have you tried catnip? Flies and mosquitoes hate the smell. You can hang bunches fresh in the rabbitry and bruise it well whenever you go in to release the scent.


does it have to be fresh? I'll see if I can find any. I will plant it all around the yard.

The flies are not at their worst in the rabbitry, they are worst on the side carport in the back yard.
 
skysthelimit":o8dsuxi1 said:
We were wondering if the fruit trees draw flies. I could always have them cut down.

ACK! Don't cut your trees down! Bees and wasps, yes... flies- probably not!
 
Yes, the catnip needs to be fresh. It has a very pungent scent and a bunch will last 2-3 days. Fortunately it grows extemely fast and spreads well... But if it starts to get out of hand it is easy to control by pulling excess plants before they set seed. It may be difficult to establish enough to do much good this year, but by next year you should have plenty. Make sure you get true catnip, Nepeta cataria, and not one of the ornamental varieties. They are prettier but not effective as a repellent.
 
skysthelimit":18iz4gel said:
The flies are not at their worst in the rabbitry, they are worst on the side carport in the back yard.

Have you DE'd the carport walls (if it has walls) or roof? If they are roosting there it will kill them.
 
MamaSheepdog":3e7wko6b said:
skysthelimit":3e7wko6b said:
The flies are not at their worst in the rabbitry, they are worst on the side carport in the back yard.

Have you DE'd the carport walls (if it has walls) or roof? If they are roosting there it will kill them.


Yes. I tried throwing DE all over the barn too. Didn't seem to do much. I would have to blanket the whole yard in DE. I'm mixing it into the paint as I paint the barn walls.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:49 pm __________<br /><br />
MamaSheepdog":3e7wko6b said:
skysthelimit":3e7wko6b said:
We were wondering if the fruit trees draw flies. I could always have them cut down.

ACK! Don't cut your trees down! Bees and wasps, yes... flies- probably not!

The fruit falls rotting in places I can't get to it.
 
Most flies don't go after fruit, rotten or otherwise. The bees and wasps eat it, sometimes getting drunk in the process.
 
You could also get some bug-eating plants, such as venus fly trap and pitcher plant, and put them in sunny areas around your barn. They like to be kept WET (think "swamp") and NO soil nutrients whatsoever.
 
I think the bunnies might enjoy the scenery.

So no spray?<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 07, 2012 5:34 pm __________<br /><br />threee years and I have not figured out what's drawing them. I can see them now in a swarm outside of my living room window. I thought too that since my house is in the shade, the flies from the hood come hang out in the cool areas? Like my house is a fly rest stop?
 
Try drying any and all mud/poo/urine areas and keep them dry. If you have to dispose of bodies, double bag and trash them or bury them.
 
ChickiesnBunnies":m1a7hzv8 said:
Try drying any and all mud/poo/urine areas and keep them dry. If you have to dispose of bodies, double bag and trash them or bury them.


No mud, dogs are on concrete with drains, no bodies, dogs eat all rabbit meat and intestines and fur if I let them, nothing left. There are no pools of standing water, ACV added to dog water. Dogs are on DE as well, and on raw, so poo dries in minutes and becomes crunchy white powder. The flies are not near the dog potty area. Areas urinated on are sprayed daily with Odorban or vinegar and essential oil blends. Part of the deal for letting me dogs is that it can never smell like dogs. The compost heap is limed. I have no outside garbage cans. nothing goes out of the house till garbage day.


when the day cools down they go away, if the day stays cool I don't see them.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:50 pm __________<br /><br />I may have discovered something. Chopper has fly bites on his ears, but Chase does not. The only difference is that Chase has lemon balm growing all around his kennel. Chopper does not.
 
I'll give up the spray inside the barn for now. I will transplant lemon balm all around the bunny barn. Good thing for them because they love to eat it as well. I'll also keep looking for the source of these flies. I had more dogs at a different house, before I was feeding raw, and have never had that many flies before.
 
NOw, this is poison, but it works--

Golden Malrin--

PLace a tablespoon of the stuff in a disposable container, (jar lids are great) add some cheap cola ( the cola flavor, not lemon lime, orange, grape etc) place container where animals cannot reach..

yes, lemon balm does keep insects away

Pennyroyal mint as well, but is toxic if animals chew on it.

Some people swear by hanging ziploc bags filled with water in/near open doors and windows.

we are having issues with flies on the porch,-- this afternoon swore we smelled something 'dead'-- Ithink we have some dead baby birds in the eaves,,,,,
 
Frosted Rabbits":s6cqp9lp said:
NOw, this is poison, but it works--

Golden Malrin--

PLace a tablespoon of the stuff in a disposable container, (jar lids are great) add some cheap cola ( the cola flavor, not lemon lime, orange, grape etc) place container where animals cannot reach..

yes, lemon balm does keep insects away

Pennyroyal mint as well, but is toxic if animals chew on it.

Some people swear by hanging ziploc bags filled with water in/near open doors and windows.

we are having issues with flies on the porch,-- this afternoon swore we smelled something 'dead'-- Ithink we have some dead baby birds in the eaves,,,,,

now that you mentioned it, I did put out poison bait traps for the mice. i've been battling mice since I moved into this house, and I have always resorted to poison to control them. i do remember smelling something that smelled dead, but it was faint and I passed by it without really finding it's source.
 
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