Flies- everywhere!

[Jim Nelson]

Flys can be fun if you have a Bug-A-Salt gun.I spend my afternoons drinking beer and shooting flies. BUG-A-SALT: The Original Salt Gun. Great sport

 

[RichZ]

Sticky fly strips work best to control flies in the house. As for outside, do you have anything attracting them? What kind of livestock do you have? How are you in cleaning up manure, and where do you deposit it? The best thing to do is to eliminate their food and breeding sources.

 

[deerefan]

Sticky fly strips work best to control flies in the house. As for outside, do you have anything attracting them? What kind of livestock do you have? How are you in cleaning up manure, and where do you deposit it? The best thing to do is to eliminate their food and breeding sources.

We are currently using fly strips and they are working ok. We own 10 horses, 9 in pasture. As for manure, we spread it, not near the house. What prompted this is they have never been this bad. Kind of freaky.

 

[deerefan]

The horse flies/deer flies or whatever they're called are horrible here. The damned things sting like bees and are as fast as a house fly. They're relentless once they sense you. When I drive in the yard, 50 or more swarm around my truck. They'll follow the truck out onto the street and drop off at about 25 mph.

Nasty, nasty things.


1/4 of a mile away...........none. go figgure.

Yep familiar with those pests. Really tear the horses up. They leave almost as quick as they arrive here, thankfully. We also get the love bugs about the same time. Another critter I can do without. Wash the truck daily when they are around.

 

[deerseeker001]

They seem to be drawn to water for some reason.

 

[zzvyb6]

I fog every other night around the house and barn (only on still-air nights). No more mosquitoes, no more deer flies and no more flies. Spiders have moved on, too.

On the other side of the coin, the huge barn and tree swallow population has moved away to the woods (probably because the food supply has dwindled). I bought the propane powered fogger at a garage sale and get Cutter fluid/fogging oil and Home Depot. You can get a new Burgess fogger at HD for $70. $10 for the fluid. I use 1/3 of a container every other night.

Peace at last. Outdoor sleeping on the porch is back !

 

[Happy Gilmore]

Horse flies are brutal for sure, out on the tractor they are like freakin kamikazes!

 

[kidr]

I did see this at the local co-op. Being it was toxic and we have 2 small kids, I was hesitant to use it. It has got to the point I may try it.

This stuff is very sweet and palatable. a friends dog got some and was dead pretty quick. I wouldn't have it around. It's not worth the risk.

 

[phiferpharm]

I have used Fly Eliminator from Arbico for the past three years with good results. That, combined with Blue Dixie Cups with Sticky stuff for the biting flies (horse/Deer/Yellow), seems to be keeping them down pretty well. I've added three additional horses since I started using them, so there is actually more manure than before.

Doesn't do anything for the mosquito's, but with the amount of rain we've had this year, thats to be expected.

 

[Beltman60]

I have used Fly Eliminator from Arbico for the past three years with good results. That, combined with Blue Dixie Cups with Sticky stuff for the biting flies (horse/Deer/Yellow), seems to be keeping them down pretty well. I've added three additional horses since I started using them, so there is actually more manure than before.

Doesn't do anything for the mosquito's, but with the amount of rain we've had this year, thats to be expected.

This is the stuff my wife has been using for 4 years
our flies had been under control the last 3 years
went over to neighbors barn about 500 yrds from ours and the flies were terrible

 

[deerefan]

I have used Fly Eliminator from Arbico for the past three years with good results. That, combined with Blue Dixie Cups with Sticky stuff for the biting flies (horse/Deer/Yellow), seems to be keeping them down pretty well. I've added three additional horses since I started using them, so there is actually more manure than before.

Doesn't do anything for the mosquito's, but with the amount of rain we've had this year, thats to be expected.

This looks interesting as we would prefer to stay a little more "organic" since we have 2 young kids and several animals running around. How fast did you see results?

 

[deerefan]

This stuff is very sweet and palatable. a friends dog got some and was dead pretty quick. I wouldn't have it around. It's not worth the risk.

That is exactly what made me hesitant. We do have a "patrol" dog, roams our 40 acres and eats everything. She is great at security but does have a taste for everything...she would get into this unfortunately. I do hear the stuff works well though.

 

[phiferpharm]

This looks interesting as we would prefer to stay a little more "organic" since we have 2 young kids and several animals running around. How fast did you see results?

It took about two months the first go-round. You basically put it out in high fly areas (translate that - put it on the poop) and it attacks the fly larvae.

 

[Beltman60]

every dog in the neighborhood is over feasting on the horse leftovers and never have had any ill effects
horses are fine as well

we just throw it down around the stalls and outside where the horses like to go and within months you can tell a big difference
it does help to start at the beginning of the year (April here) and they send out more every month if your on there maintenance plan
I think it's quite inexpensive for the results when you have 5 manure makers (I think one is part elephant)

 

[firedog]

My wife and I have been battling pest flys for a couple weeks now. We live in Louisiana, just below the Mississippi line and have never had flies this bad. Are any of you having them in excess like us? What do you do to control them? We are not dirty people, live in a very rural area so critters are not uncommon, especially flies. We have never had them this bad- we kill 10-15 a day in our house. We were wondering if it is a bad year for them...or us for that matter.

We've noticed the increase in fly population here also. Increased bathing to twice a week, but still no help

 

[bumperm]

How would you kill flies with Diatomaceous earth?

Pour a small mound of diatomaceous earth, use a small spoon to form a hole at the top of the mound. Place the fly in the depression and cover with more earth. He'll be dead within an hour.

as always, glad to help . . .

bumper

 

[Mirboo]

Pour a small mound of diatomaceous earth, use a small spoon to form a hole at the top of the mound. Place the fly in the depression and cover with more earth. He'll be dead within an hour. as always, glad to help . . . bumper

Will have to give it a try. ;-)

 

[deerefan]

One thing we found works is a 70/30 vinegar/water solution. We spray them and it seems to knock them down long enough for us to swat them and they won't land on anything that has been sprayed.

 

[tallyho8]

Traps like Boggen described in post #8 work very well during high fly infestations. They are very safe around people or pets and can be extremely easy and cheap to make.

Just get some empty 2 liter coke bottles. Cut the top off the bottle at the top of the bottle before it starts to make the cone. Turn the cone top upside down and tape it back to the bottle. Stand it up wherever flys are present and insert some stinking rotten food and watch the flys trap themselves.