Sand and flies

[BladeFireLight]

We have a run filled with sand. the first 2 years we had no fly problem but last year and this sprint they have apeard with a vengence.
I assume it's due to needing to clean the run more effectively.. we remove what we can via litter scoops but the girls usually have most of it mixed in well by the time we get to donning cleaning.

is there a way to wash the sand? or something we should add the reduce Flys?

 

[Debbie292d]

I personally would switch over to horse bedding pellets. We live across the road from a horse farm and oh my gosh the flies, but those keep the poop dry and odor free so pretty much keeps the flies gone, plus practically zero maintenance.

Some years are worse though and they congregate in the coop like when it rains. My sister got me onto PT Alpine. She's a co-owner of a huge commercial turkey farm in MN and they use this in their poult barns.

With this stuff, you spray a dot of it on a wall up out of chicken's reach. I do a dot on all four walls and one on the window frame. The dead flies are safe for chickens to eat. It's good for about a month. It's pricey, but a can has lasted us nearly a decade now.

 

[perkolator]

I think there will always be at least some presence of flies in a chicken area no matter what type of bedding system you're using; I get some in my deep bedding/mulch system, but not a lot. If they bother you, I'd try putting out some traps to catch some and knock down their volume - sticky traps, hanging traps, the ones with liquid inside, etc.

Since you have a bunch of flies, I'd justify buying a Bug-A-Salt and have some fun with it while you're figuring out mitigation. Two Xmas ago, my SIL got me a Bug-A-Salt 3.0 and I thought it was perhaps the most fun I've had since getting a Super Soaker as a kid...then last year she got me a Bug-A-Salt Shred-er/revolver - that thing is even more fun