Fly Pressure Starts Before the Swarm

Fly Pressure Starts Before the Swarm

Quick Look

• If flies are already thick around the coop or barn, you are playing catch-up.

• Start by finding moisture: leaking waterers, wet bedding, drainage problems and damp manure.

• Clean spilled feed and organic material before it becomes a breeding site.

• Pay attention to shaded, protected areas where animals congregate.

• Use traps, baits and other products as part of a larger fly-management program—not as a substitute for sanitation.

• Check fly pressure regularly so you can act while populations are still manageable.

Every summer I hear the same thing:

“The flies just showed up.”

Most of the time, they didn’t.

The adult flies may seem like they appeared overnight, but the conditions that produced them were probably sitting there for days. A leaking waterer. A wet corner of the pen. Manure staying damp underneath a roost. Feed spilled behind a barrel. A shaded area where animals congregate every afternoon.

If you wait until flies are covering the walls, landing on the birds and swarming every time you walk into the barn, you are no longer preventing a fly problem.

You are trying to catch up with one.

Flies Are Usually Telling You Something

One of the biggest mistakes people make with fly control is looking only at the fly.

I want you to look at the environment producing the fly.

House flies and several other nuisance flies associated with poultry operations thrive around moisture and decomposing organic material. Wet manure, damp litter, spilled feed and other organic material can provide exactly what developing flies need.

That is why fly control often begins with something much less exciting than a spray bottle.

It starts with a water leak.

It starts with a shovel.

It starts with finding the place everybody has been walking past for the last two weeks.

Start With Water

If I were walking your property with you looking for the source of fly pressure, water would be one of the first things I checked.

Look under every waterer.

Run your hand through the bedding underneath it.

Check hose connections, nipples, cups, automatic valves and fittings. A leak does not have to be dramatic. A slow drip in the same location day after day can keep manure or bedding damp enough to create a problem.

Then look outside the pen.

Where does rainwater collect?

Does runoff move away from the building or underneath it?

Is there a low spot that stays muddy after everything else dries?

Moisture management is one of the most important pieces of a good fly-control program because killing adult flies does nothing to repair the environment producing the next generation.

Look Where the Animals Spend Their Time

Another place people miss is the area where animals naturally congregate.

Think about your property at two or three o'clock in the afternoon.

Where are the chickens standing?

Where are the goats lying?

Where are the cattle gathering?

Where is the deepest shade?

Those areas receive more manure, more spilled feed and more traffic than the rest of the property. They can also stay cooler and damp longer.

Do not evaluate the whole farm equally.

Look hardest at the places the animals use the most.

Feed Spills Are More Than Wasted Money

When feed hits the ground, most people think about the money being wasted.

I also think about what happens after that feed gets wet.

Feed mixed with water, manure and warm weather creates organic material that attracts pests and becomes difficult to clean once it has been ground into dirt or bedding.

Check underneath feeders.

Look behind feed barrels.

Move that pallet that has not moved since spring.

Clean around storage bins and feed rooms.

The problem is often hiding somewhere we stopped looking.

Why Waiting Makes Fly Control Harder

Under favorable conditions, house flies can move through their life cycle surprisingly fast. By the time you notice a dramatic increase in adults, another generation may already be developing.

That is why spraying the flies you can see may make you feel better without solving the problem.

You knocked down today's adults.

What about everything developing in wet manure behind the building?

What about the leaking waterer?

What about that pile of damp bedding?

That is why I would rather spend twenty minutes finding the breeding source than spend the rest of the summer spraying around it.

My Fly-Pressure Check

Walk your poultry area, barn or livestock pens and look specifically for:

Water leaks. Check every water source instead of assuming it works correctly.

Wet bedding. Pay special attention underneath waterers and roosting areas.

Manure accumulation. Look for places that stay moist instead of drying normally.

Feed spills. Clean them before moisture turns them into an attractive organic mess.

Drainage problems. Standing water and chronically damp soil deserve attention.

Mortality or decomposing material. Remove and dispose of it properly and promptly.

Congregation areas. Inspect the shade, gates, feeders and other places animals use repeatedly.

Fly activity. Do not wait for a swarm. Notice where adults are beginning to gather and investigate why.

The goal is not to create a farm where one fly is considered an emergency.

The goal is to notice when the pressure is changing early enough to do something useful about it.

Traps, Baits and Sprays Still Have a Place

I am not telling you that traps, baits or properly labeled fly-control products are useless.

They are tools.

But a tool works better when you use it for the job it was designed to do.

Sticky traps and other monitoring tools can help you determine whether fly numbers are increasing. Baits and appropriately labeled control products can help reduce adults. Certain management programs may also target immature stages.

What they cannot do is stop a leaking waterer.

They cannot dry wet litter.

They cannot clean spilled feed.

That part is still management.

The strongest fly-control programs use several approaches together instead of expecting one product to carry the whole load.

Where Fly Aside Fits

We also carry Fertrell products at Walker Supply, including products designed to help livestock owners manage fly pressure.

But this is important:

Use every fly-control product according to its current label and only on the species and in the situations listed by the manufacturer.

Fertrell's current Fly Aside information lists its livestock applications, but poultry are not currently listed for Fly Aside. I would not recommend applying or feeding a product to chickens simply because it works in another species.

For poultry, start with the proven fundamentals: moisture control, manure management, sanitation, monitoring and properly labeled poultry fly-control products when additional control is necessary.

That's the difference between using products intelligently and simply throwing products at a problem.

The Biggest Mistake: Spraying Adults and Walking Away

If there is one thing I want you to remember, it is this:

The flies you see are the symptom.

Your job is to find the system supporting them.

I see people spend money treating adult flies while walking past the same wet bedding, leaking hose and manure pile every day.

Then they decide the product didn't work.

Sometimes the product worked exactly as expected.

The environment simply produced more flies.

Fix the environment first. Then use the right tools to help manage what remains.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I suddenly have so many flies around my chickens?

A sudden increase in adult flies usually means favorable breeding material has been present somewhere nearby. Check wet manure, damp bedding, leaking waterers, feed spills, compost, drainage areas and other decomposing organic matter.

Can wet chicken bedding cause flies?

Yes. Damp organic material provides much better conditions for fly development than properly maintained dry bedding. Find the source of the moisture instead of continually adding fresh bedding over a wet problem.

Will spraying flies solve the problem?

It can reduce adult flies, but adult control alone may not eliminate the breeding source. If larvae continue developing in wet manure or other organic material, new adults can continue appearing.

Should I use fly traps around my chicken coop?

Traps can be useful for both control and monitoring depending on the type. Placement matters, and traps should be used as part of an overall sanitation and fly-management program.

How often should I check for fly problems?

During warm weather, make fly pressure part of your normal daily observations. You do not need a complicated inspection. Look for new wet spots, leaks, manure buildup, feed spills and changes in the number of flies you see.

Can I use Fly Aside on chickens?

Fertrell's current Fly Aside information does not list poultry as an approved species. Follow the current product label and do not assume a livestock fly-control product is appropriate for poultry.

Bottom Line

Good fly control starts before the swarm.

Walk the property.

Find the moisture.

Fix the leak.

Clean the feed.

Manage the manure.

Watch the areas where your animals congregate.

Then use traps, baits, sprays or other properly labeled products as additional tools where they make sense.

If flies are already everywhere, start today.

But next year, start before you see them.

Carey Blackmon
Walker Supply Company / Show Pro Farm Supply
Hueytown, Alabama

Sources and Further Reading

Penn State Extension — Pest Management Recommendations for Poultry and Fly Control on Poultry Farms

Merck Veterinary Manual — Flies, Gnats, and Mosquitoes of Poultry

University of Minnesota Extension — Small-flock poultry manure, sanitation and pest-management guidance

The Fertrell Company — Current Fly Aside product information and labeling